Elementary school paper becomes reality

Two classes of first- and second-graders from Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES) have published their own paper, The Takoma Tribune. The first edition of the paper contains articles and stories by kids and for kids on topics running the gamut from education to the comic strip "Fatman and Blobin."

TPES is sponsoring the paper this year as a special component of the school's Gifted and Talented magnet program. First- and second- graders reading and writing at an advanced level make up the paper's staff, and they cover just about every topic kids could conceivably be interested in. Articles on the school Math-a-Thon, hairstyles, favorite movies, sports and a word search make the Tribune a delightful newspaper for readers young and old alike.

"Second Graders Visit Blair High School," (reprinted below) is an article in the Tribune describing the kids' impressions and experiences in the Blair's cavernous halls. The short story offers a look back to a time most Blazers can still recall easily, when it seemed like they would never be as big as the kids in high school.

Ellen Weiss, a para-educator at TPES, oversaw the project and supervised the kids during their trip to Blair, which included a visit to Silver Chips Online. "Coming to Blair was the highlight of the project," says Weiss. "They're still talking about it. Several said that they want to work on Chips when they get to Blair."

According to Weiss, all of the adults involved are very happy with the complete publication, which will be produced again next year. The kids, however, may have been a little more excited by the extra perks that come with their paper. "We had a publication party with cake, and I think they liked that more than the paper!" says Weiss.

Second Graders Visit Blair High School, from The Takoma Tribune.
by second-graders Brielle Fowler, Sam Dembling and Delia Harris

On Wednesday, Feb. 25, we went to Blair High School to visit the class that puts together the Silver Chips Online. Each of the high-school students paired up with a second grader. We showed them our articles and they showed us the ones they had written. It was nice comparing their newspaper to ours. We also liked their cool website. They were all nice teenagers. We enjoyed meeting their editor. We learned a lot about the school. It was a like a mall, and the kids were as big as grownups. The Blair students had a lot to teach us, but the time went by so quickly. We had to get back on the bus, but we didn't want to go. The trip to Blair was really fun. We were ecstatic about being there and we'll never forget it. Going to Blair was a great experience!

See coverage of the kids' visit to Blair here.