Instructor: Mrs. Annette Deming, M.Ed., M.A., CJE

Instructor: Mrs. Annette Deming, M.Ed., M.A., CJE Contact: (909) 591-3902 ex. 4869 Email: [email protected] School Website: www.donlugo.com Twitter: @LugoDeming Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/questnews/ Office hours: Monday 2:30-3:30 p.m. beginning October 1st.

WELCOME Journalists! If you follow the guidelines and procedures in this syllabus, you should have a successful and meaningful year in this class. Please share this information with your network of support at home so you can create a clear pathway of communication between all the parties involved in your academic success.

Mission: To tell the ethical and newsworthy stories driving the Don Lugo HS campus and the community of Chino. Quest News is committed to promoting the public discourse essential to democracy. The Quest News Staff members produce a product that transcends a newspaper or a website. Quest News Staff members master 21st century skills that will follow them into a variety of careers and prepare them for college.

Vision:  To use a variety of mediums and stay abreast of technological platforms that will encourage innovation, celebrate creativity, and keep readers engaged in the Quest News’ journalistic efforts.  To encourage First Amendment rights and enhance the free flow of information provided to student journalists in the state of California.  To drive the quest for diversity and inclusion in the newsroom and newspaper content.  To promote the newspaper’s role in providing information necessary to the informed practice of citizenship.  To respect and encourage the involvement of all its members.

Course Description: Journalism 1, 2, or 3 (aka) Quest News Staff

What is journalism? Most people understand that journalism has something to do with news, investigation, and opinion as presented through the mediums of newspapers, magazines, and television. But the modern conception of journalism has begun to shift, especially as websites, weblogs and podcasts have become more common. In this course, you will learn about the practice of journalism and how it’s shifted over the years. You will also practice photojournalism, journalism, and digital media by interviewing, writing articles in a variety of styles, taking photo’s and video, editing, and publishing them in print and online.

Class time… Includes pitching story ideas, discussions, workshops, group and individual meetings, editing, writing, layout, interviewing, graphic design, online publishing and social media. You will read and discuss recently published articles and practice captioning photos weekly. The practice of journalism should keep you pretty busy. Journalism is a deadline driven class. We live and die by your ability to manage your time, multi-task, use good judgment, and behave ethically.

Students are expected to make use of class time for journalism assignments only. If you find yourself “done,” you should move on to your next project, offer your help to any other staff members, conference with your Editor-in-Chief, or “When in doubt…Tweet it out!” Everyone is assigned to a Beat. It’s important you update the information relative to your Beat daily.

This is YOUR paper! Its successful production is due to your efforts! The protection of it, both ethically and legally, lies with you and the people working next to you. Learn to trust to them, act responsibility, learn to listen with an open and mature mind, value everyone’s time, and don’t take advantage of downtime.

After School… After schoolwork is mandatory for reporters and editors who DO NOT MEET THEIR DEADLINES! A student may not work in the Newsroom without Mrs. Deming’s permission and knowledge. When a Quest News staff member is working in the newsroom, they may not be accompanied by anyone who is NOT a staff member.

Field Trips… One of the best ways to enhance your critical thinking and provide you with the best possible “real life” experience of a journalist is to take you out of Chino! Pending approval from administration and ASB, you will be broken up into five groups. Each group will research five different locations in Los Angeles. That information will help you upon your arrival to what will be a secret location in Los Angeles. Essentially, you’ll research all five but you won’t know which one you’re going to until we arrive there. You will be given three hours to find a story. Your group will search, interview, photograph, video, discuss, plan, present, and publish their story for the online website “What About L.A.?” You will also be attending at least two school board meetings, traveling to PBS in Costa Mesa, visiting the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Orange County Register. You will also be planning on attending the Journalism Education Association National Journalism Conference in Denver, CO in 2016 to compete in their scholastic journalism competition.

Press Passes & Coverage of Events… Participation on the school newspaper staff affords students with more freedom than most other classes. It also requires them to exhibit a high degree of maturity and good judgment. As members of a group that produce a product that is read by students, teachers, administrators, and the community, you will be expected to demonstrate high journalistic standards and ethical practices. You are recognized as representatives of the paper even when you are not actually on assignment. When assigned to a story, you must wear your press pass or press t-shirt. When the press passes are distributed the students will sign an agreement to not abuse the privilege. If a student abuses the privileges, his or her press pass will be taken away, and he or she will not be able to leave the room to conduct interviews or use the press pass for events free of charge for newspaper coverage. You will be suspended to deskwork.

Communication We are practicing the skills of communication in this class, so your ability to communicate is essential. Please learn the following information in order to communicate with this class.

Remind101: Send this code ______to ( ) ______Edmodo: ______Communication continued….

Email: [email protected] Website: questnews.wix.com/questnews

Classroom Materials:  Black, blue, red and one other color ink  Access to a computer with Internet pen  A flash drive  2 Pencils and a large eraser  Three different colored highlighters  Spiral notebook, composition book, or  1 pack of 3x5 cards section in a binder for notes  1 pack post-it notes  Report cover with several clear plastic  Black construction paper protective covers  A small reporters notebook  1,000 sheets of paper for notes and other  A pocket calendar writing activities  Smartphone with texting, photo, and  An AP Stylebook (optional) video capabilities  A thesaurus (optional)   Classroom Rules 1. Respect others & your environment (i.e. teacher, computers, guests, books, desks, etc.) by word and by action. 2. Be cooperative (raising your hand, accepting corrections, receiving directions, etc.). 3. Be on time and prepared. Bring all books and materials to class AND take them with you. 4. Follow directions the first-time they are given. 5. Turn off and DO NOT use mobile phones, MP3 players, visible ear buds, or any other electronic device until I give you the ok. 6. Conduct yourself and turn in work that demonstrates that you possess the following: integrity, good character, humility, and respect. 7. Follow all classroom procedures.   Students who choose to follow these rules can expect these rewards:  Praise and recognition  Added respect from classmates and/or teacher  Recognition postcard, phone call, report card code, or email home to parent  Letters of recommendation and positive survey replies for sports, clubs, ASB, jobs, and college applications.  Play and use music in the classroom  Extra Credit opportunities  Trust & respect from your colleagues and advisor   Students who choose NOT to follow these rules can expect these consequences in whatever order the teacher sees fit:  Verbal Warning  Loss of privileges or special projects  Note of declining citizenship on progress reports and report cards.  Temporary field reporting suspension/use of press badge  Student-Teacher Conference  Change of Seat  Afterschool Detention  Temporary removal from the classroom  Communication in a variety of forms to coaches, advisors, parents, and counselors.  Mandatory Parent-Teacher Conference  Referral  Request for school Suspension   **Please Note**  Certain behaviors will cause the teacher to automatically bypass small infractions and conferences and a call home will result in an immediate referral or other disciplinary action recommended by the assistant principal for the following:  1. Failure to report for a conference or detention is considered defiance. 2. The intention to deceive through cheating, lying, and/or plagiarism. 3. Severe misbehavior, fighting, or any other behavior deemed suspicious.   I operate on the motto: “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime!”   Homework/Classwork  In journalism homework consists of a variety of things. Mostly, your homework revolves around the deadlines set fourth by your editors. There will be homework during workshop lessons and you will have to complete 1-2 big projects. You are required to log 4 hours a week in outside beat reporting. This can be one four event, like a district board meeting or football game, or a series of multiple events totaling the 4 hours, like 1 hour of interviewing a teacher, 2 hours of a basketball game, or 1 hour at a park in the community. These “outside” hours are defined as any work done outside the walls of the “newsroom”. You may complete them during class time, before school, after school, or during lunch. However, you must always have another party able to sign off on your time sheet. All planned time must be pre-approved by your editor.   Late Work  I DO NOT except late work in this class. This is a deadline driven industry. If you miss the deadline there are other consequences set forth by your editor-in-chief. Most reporters who miss their deadline lose out on having stories run, which results in a missing grade for mandatory weekly stories. However, your commitment to your colleagues doesn’t end just because you chose to take a loss to your grade. You will be put on the list for after school working hours to complete your stories for future use.   Extra Credit  Extra Credit is offered to any reporter who takes on additional responsibilities in story writing and writing. That is the only form of Extra Credit offered in this class.   Grading  All grading is given a letter equivalent to the percentage it represents and will be communicated on grading rubrics. When using the 100-point scale the grades will be the following:   100 – 90 = A Outstanding Achievement: significantly exceeds standards and expectations  89 – 80 = B Commendable Achievement: Exceeds standards and end expectations  79 – 70 = C Acceptable Achievement: Meets standards and expectations  69 – 60 = D Marginal Achievement: Below standards and expectations  59 – 50 = F Failed Achievement: Failed to meet standards and expectations   Each assignment will be given a point value. The point value will affect your overall percentage in the category in which it falls. My assessment of your work is simple. With each assignment or task, I communicate a goal or an objective. Your work either meets that goal with the above criteria or it doesn’t.    **Warning**  One of the biggest assumptions students make is that if they turn in SOMETHING and lead their academic life by mediocrity, somehow they will pass the class. This is an incorrect assumption. Because I don’t give homework that often, it’s to your benefit to put as much effort as you can in order to receive the best grade possible. As such, a grade point of 50 will be given on any 100-point assignment if a reasonable amount of effort was put forth, providing you with a sense of recovery. Zero’s are obtained by no effort at all.   Grading Breakdown  Meeting Deadlines/Campus Hours Assessment: worth 30%  Story Assessment: worth 30%  Homework: worth 30%  Portfolio/Projects/Exams: worth 10%   Every assignment is calculated at 25 pts., with the exception of exams. Exams are calculated at 100 pts.   Citizenship Reporting  Each semester you will earn a Class Demeanor/Participation/Citizenship grade. Focusing on the lesson, participating regularly and treating the classroom community with respect are the best way to earn high scores in Class Demeanor/Participation/Citizenship. Excessive talking, disrupting the class, leaving your seat without permission and doing work for other classes without permission are the easiest ways to earn low points in this category.   Academic Integrity & Plagiarism:  Deceit and/or Plagiarism WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Deceit is the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas or work as one’s own. Students MUST give credit for any information that is not either the result of original research or common knowledge. If a student borrows ideas or information from another author, he/she must acknowledge the author in the body of the text and on a work cited page. As such, if a student lies, covers up, or intends to be dishonest on his or her own or another student’s behalf they are just as guilty of academic dishonesty and the student will face the consequences. This includes fact checking, making up statistics, making up quotes, misusing quotes, publishing incorrect information without running a correction.   Plagiarism is an especially distasteful crime in the world of journalism. It will get a prize- winning reporter fired and usually results in the writer never working again in the business. For that reason, it is essential that you never turn in writing in this class that isn’t your own.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaIvk1cSyG8   YOU CAN DO IT!          Please sign below to indicate that you have read and discussed the syllabus information and the rules and regulations regarding the class. Please return this portion of the syllabus by Wednesday, Aug. 27th.    Student Name (print)  ______Period ______   Student Signature   ______Date ______   Parent/Guardian Name (print)   ______Date ______   Parent/Guardian Signature   ______Date ______   Parent Social Media Disclaimer   Journalism as a course requires students to learn, research, understand, and act ethically and responsibly on campus, in the community, and while engaging in social media. Your student is being asked to create a FOR SCHOOL USE ONLY Twitter account, Pinterest Page, and Instagram account so that they can contribute to the Quest News digital website and interact with their Chino audience. They are expected to conduct themselves ethically while acting as representatives of the school news and under the direct supervision of the journalism advisor and editor-in-chief. Please sign below if you consent to their use of in-class social media.    I give permission for my child to participate in the use of social media while under the supervision of the journalism advisor.   ______Date ______ Parent Signature   I DO NOT give my permission for my child to participate in the use of social media while under the supervision of the journalism advisor.   ______Date ______ Parent Signature       Equipment Contract  Students will be working with expensive equipment and are responsible for them from the  moment they sign it out until it is returned to Mrs. Deming. Please carefully read the  following release and sign at the bottom.   Camera Use  School cameras are the student’s responsibility after checkout. A student must pay for damages  that occur to a camera while in his/her care (including but not limited to dropping, breakage,  careless handling and water damage). The student is also responsible if it is stolen and the theft  will be reported to the school security office and/or administration if warranted.   Computer Use  Students will be using the computers on a daily basis and are responsible for any damage that  may occur to that computer. Students will be assigned a computer and you may only use that  particular laptop. Students turned in an Acceptable Use Agreement form prior to registration  and must have Internet permission to use it. Students are to use the computers for research and class assignments only. The computers are not here for you to play games or watch videos. Use them wisely or you may find you lose the privilege of using one. Students may lose permission to use the computer after the first offense and are not allowed to use the computers for other class assignments. Any damage done to the computer or its’ components will be reported to administrators if warranted.   Miscellaneous Technology Use  Students may use other technology (voice recorders, headphones, etc.) and are responsible for  them when in their possession. Any damage done to the equipment will be reported to administrators if warranted. If any equipment is lost, stolen, damaged, etc., student will be responsible to pay the fees. Any student who loses equipment will have their name sent to the finance and ASB office. You could have your registration held or be in danger of not receiving your diploma until all financial responsibilities are settled.   I agree to let my child use the class’ technology devices and I understand the guidelines/consequences stated above. I realize that I will be responsible for any financial consequences should my child misuse any equipment he/she has checked out.   Please Print Student Name: ______  Student Signature: ______  Please Print Parent Name: ______  Parent Signature: ______           NOTICE TO PARENTS: FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS   ASB CARD   You son/daughter has chosen journalism as their A-G (UC/CSU approved) elective. In order to participate in campus activities or to enter activities for free they must purchase an ASB card. ASB cards are $40 and can be purchased through the finance office.   Also, in order for your student to be recognized at the end of the year with certificates, awards, pins, Letterman Jacket letters, and patches, they must have purchased an ASB card. It’s such a shame to have students chosen by their peers to receive an award only to find out they do not have an ASB card. ASB financially supports our program and our end of the year banquet, so without an ASB card, they will not be given a physical accolade of the tremendous work they’ve done. Please consider purchasing one!   END OF THE YEAR BANQUET   Although supported by ASB, journalism still has to fundraise in order to have any end of the year celebrations. The Quest News staff enjoys one evening out at the end of the year to attend a semi-formal banquet off campus. Their banquet usually consists of a three- course meal and all they can drink. Tickets for the banquet range from $30-45 per person. Therefore, I’ll be asking the Quest News staff to bring $5 at the beginning of every month in order to put towards their banquet ticket. However, any parents/guardians that would like to pay the ticket price in full can do so in the finance office at anytime.   CONCESSION STAND   Quest News Staff is responsible for one concession stand during the football season. The concession stand brings anywhere from $250-$600 depending on the date. We will need volunteers to help in the concession stand.   FIELD TRIPS   Quest News Staff will be traveling off campus 3-4 different times on district approved field trips. Students will be required to have money for their lunch. Typically $10-$15 covers it.   I have read and understand the financial commitments that come with my son/daughter’s participation in the Quest News journalism program.   Please Print Parent Name: ______  Parent Signature: ______   Yes, I am over 18 and I would like to volunteer to help in the concession stand. Please contact me when the date becomes available.   Parent Name: ______Phone #: ______  Email Address: