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Letter From the Editor

Dear Reader,

My name is, Konish Bhattacharya, and I’m the editor-in-chief of The Gateway School newspaper, The Gateway Gazette. I am so happy that you are reading this newspaper and would like to welcome you to this publication. The link to each publication can be found on the Gateway School website, via email and posters around the school. Our plan is to publish a new edition every other Tuesday. I would like to start by telling you about the goals of our newspaper.

The first goal of our paper is to create a fun site that everyone can enjoy. Our newspaper articles will include many engaging features including: polls, reports and current events. Our second goal is to keep people informed and to get people interested in events in and out of our school. Lastly we hope for the Gateway School newspaper to be an all-inclusive safe space where all ideas and opinions are welcome.

Next I would also like to introduce the Gateway Gazette staff. We are a group of seven including myself, Jack Jensen our current events writer; Jonah Chizinsky, our sports reporter; Leah Rosenfeld our Teacher Feature columnist; Lily Brooks, feature Writer; Sydney Barnes, our education reporter and Lissa Downey, our copy editor and advisor. We can't forget our advice columnist “Alex,” but their identity shall remain anonymous. The position of entertainment reporter, originally held by, Rider McCormick, is now available! Are you, or is someone you know interested in writing about entertainment news for the Gateway Gazette? If so please contact me ASAP. We are also looking for a staff photographer and tech savvy person. Please spread the word and join our amazing team.

Lastly, I would like to let you know where you can contact the Gateway School newspaper. Our email contact is thegatewaygazette@gatewaysc.org. Please send us your questions and feedback. Do you have an idea for an article or suggestions for our school paper? Would you like to write a letter to the editor or do you have some news for the calendar or current events page? Let us know here.

Feature Article: What's the Scoop On Cell Phones At School?

By Lily Brooks

My name is Lily Brooks and I'm a 6th grader at Gateway School. I'm the feature writer for the brand new, Gateway Gazette. I was inspired to investigate a question that I've had for a while, "Why do kids bring their phones to school?”

Many middle schoolers have their phone in their lockers. I wanted to explore the reasons students bring their phones to school, especially when they are required to have them put away all day.

I interviewed five middle schoolers and asked them five questions. Here's what they had to say:

Question 1: Do you have a phone and if so, do you bring it to school?

Four out of five interviewed had a phone and two brought their phone to school.

Question 2: Do you bring your phone to school to stay on top of social media?

All answered “no” but two said that kids might bring their phones to school because of Snapchat or Instagram.

Question 3: Do you bring your phone to school for texting?

All middle schoolers said texting parents is or could be why some people bring their phones to school.

Question 4: If todays phones weren't smartphones do you think kids would still bring them to school?

All of the answers were fairly different. Two said that it depends on the person. Others said they would so they could text and one said they wouldn't bring their phone to school if all it could do was make calls.

Question 5: Do you think having a phone at school makes you more popular?

Most answered no but others said they thought it does make a student cooler when they have a phone. One student said it depends on the kind of phone you have and the better the phone the cooler you are.

Clearly from the answers of those interviewed, there is more than one reason why kids bring their phone to school. It's not just a black and white issue and I would like to explore further why some kids think a phone makes you cool. I don't think that phones make you cool. I think friends and the ones that love you make you cool.

Teacher Feature By Leah Rosenfeld

Allison Birkhead, M.A. Ed

Middle School Science and Math Teacher

My name is Leah Rosenfeld and I am the Teacher Feature columnist for The Gateway Gazette. I interviewed, Alli Birkhead, and you can read our interview below in a question and response format. Alli is a middle school 6th grade science teacher and 8th grade math teacher. She does so much for our school and we thought that some of you would like to learn a little bit more about her. Here we go!

Leah: Who or what inspired you to become a teacher?

Alli: When I first graduated from college I got a long term substitute job at a local high school. A few years later I officially started my career as a teacher and the real reason I keep teaching is because of the kids and my connection with them as well as the subjects I teach and how much I love them.

Leah: If you won the lottery and stopped teaching what would you do instead?

Alli: I might not stop teaching but I would definitely take some time off to travel and learn a new language. It is important to me to be somewhere long enough that I learn a new language fluently--most likely Spanish because I took Spanish in high school and college. It would be nice to travel all over the world and meet new people and experience new cultures.

Leah: What is one of your hidden talents?

Alli: I played piano from first grade all the way through high school and many people don't know that about me.

Leah: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Alli: Being able to be determined and dedicated enough to complete multiple marathons which I feel pretty proud of. Also I am very proud of the way I am raising my girls and how they are growing up.

Leah: What is your greatest fear?

Alli: Well my little fear is being afraid of horses, even though I love horses I am a little afraid of them bucking me of. My biggest fear is of loved ones dying.

Leah: If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

Alli: Well I have learned to embrace my faults so I wouldn't change much but getting more sleep. I might change the fact that I don't live close to my mom and sister because I miss them but that's not really about changing myself.

Leah: What is your motto if you have one?

Alli: A few years ago I did a First Friday when I talked about MT, which stands for mental toughness and it is a motto that I learned from my dad. When things get tough and it's hard to keep going and giving my best that's the thing that's helped me at difficult times in life. I have many mottos and another that is important is being kind.

Leah: Lastly, what would most students be surprised to learn about you?

Alli: Some students might be surprised to know if they don't already know is that I am a twin! My twin sister lives back east. We are fraternal twins so you wouldn’t know unless we were standing next to each other but we do look pretty similar. Another thing is that I have gone skydiving before, and it was really fun to fly.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Allison Birkhead. I will be interviewing a different teacher and sharing their answers in each new edition of the paper. Thank you for reading the Teacher Feature!

Stay tuned for our next edition!

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