“Roy’s Radical News” Makes Its Debut!

“Roy’s Radical News” is a brand-new middle school newspaper – created by students, for students! Even though it’s a small class this year, teacher Mrs. Jeri Gentry is thrilled to guide this new elective and watch her budding journalists take off.

When asked about the paper’s name, 7th grader Robert Lui said, “It is an enticing name!” Robert has experience writing with friends at his previous school, where they would write chapter books using Google Docs. When he saw “MS News” listed as an elective, he put it down as one of his options.

“I have a whole backstory!” exclaimed Vivian Mozena, also a 7th grader. She had created her own paper for her school friends last year and aspires to become an author one day.

The newspaper’s first issue includes a Bible verse, two stories with photos by each of the writers, a calendar of events, and even a cartoon strip. The plan is to publish a new edition every two weeks, and the students are already hard at work on their next stories and drawings.

As both teacher and editor, Mrs. Gentry describes her students as “very responsive” to feedback. She brings plenty of experience to the classroom, having worked 12 years in the newspaper world as a reporter, editor, and photographer for publications including The Outlook (Gresham, Sandy and Estacada), East Oregonian (Pendleton), Ketchikan Daily News (Alaska), and the Seaside Signal.

“Roy’s Radical News” is available digitally on Google Classroom for middle school students, or as a printed copy in the school office.

We can’t wait to see what this creative crew publishes next!