By: Si Qi Gundrum, Zachary Hein, and Addison Melzark
The students at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Kewaskum will get their voice back next year as the first issue of “Veritas,” the school’s new online newspaper, is expected to go live prior to the 2024-2025 school year. The web-based publication replaces the former print version, the “Paw Print Press,” which was suspended during the COVID-19 outbreak and never returned.
Veritas, which means “the truth” in Latin, was named by Father Jacob Strand, the former pastor at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. It was created as an extension of the eighth grade English/Language Arts curriculum, but its primary purpose is to showcase the work and talents of all the students enrolled at the school.
“The [Eighth Grade] students put in a great deal of hard work,” said Carl Scholz, who teaches English/Language Arts at the middle grades and who helped bring the school newspaper back to life, “I’m excited to show others what we teach here and the high level we teach it at.”
According to Mr. Scholz, reporting the news teaches students to be observant and to keep up with the issues and events at their school. And whether they are writing for or reading the school newspaper, this can be a fun way for students to improve their language skills and their vocabulary.
The site will have five sections, including ones for school news, sports, and feature stories, one entitled, “Our Voice,” and one for the publication of student work.
“The ‘Student Voice’ section is meant to give students the chance to express their opinions or share their thoughts about HTS,” said Addison Melzark, one of the eighth-grade student reporters who helped this year with the project, “The ‘Student Work’ section is where we can publish things that the students are most proud of, like essays or the pictures they make.”
Mr. Scholz believes the “Student Work” section will catch on with students of all ages, at every grade level.
“I’m hoping it will motivate our students to do great things,” he added.
In the “Our School” section, readers will be informed about events at the school and the important things they should know or learn about HTS. “Our Sports” will highlight girls’ volleyball, girls’ and boys’ basketball, and other sports-related activities at the school. The “Our People” section will be dedicated to those who make HTS a great place to learn and grow, both staff and students.
Whether through a Journalism Club or through a curriculum, the intent is for the new site to be filled with content written or produced by Holy Trinity students about what matters most to Holy Trinity students.
“People are always going to make news, read the news, or someday write the news,” Mr. Scholz concluded, “I think it’s incredibly important to keep up with what goes on around us in our daily lives, and for students, school is a big part of what is going on in their daily lives.”