With Ms. Alvarez retiring, Mrs. Anderson has accepted the role of becoming the new advisor for the Newspaper class.
Earlier this year, teachers with both interest and the proper credentials were allowed to apply to become the new newspaper class advisor. Mrs. Anderson, along with several other teachers, applied for the position. And after a months long process, Mrs. Anderson has been chosen as the Newspaper advisor.
Mrs. Anderson has been a teacher for 25 years, currently teaching Honors English I and AP Language and Composition. When Mrs. Anderson was in high school, she wrote for her school newspaper, and once again for her college paper, giving her experience in the field of journalism.
Mrs. Anderson says, “I thought, what an amazing opportunity to not only be involved in the school newspaper, but for kind of life and my career to come full circle where I’m advising the students that I used to be…I thought it was such a great opportunity.”
Mrs. Anderson’s experience in journalism, writing, as well as her wonderful personality make her very qualified to serve as the advisor next year.
Kimia Ahmadi (11), who had Mrs. Anderson her freshman year for Honors English I and is joining newspaper next year, says, “I am looking forward to working with Mrs. Anderson next year because I know how empathetic and kind hearted and hard working she is…she has a heart of gold, and is always the sweetest to students…she’s very understanding and she is very committed to allowing students to feel heard, understood, and supported.”
The newspaper class is a mostly student-run course, with the editor-in-chief and senior editors mostly leading and guiding the other students. Mrs. Anderson is most looking forward to working with the students in an atmosphere like this, where everyone gets a chance to collaborate and contribute ideas.
Sanaa Rishi (11), who is joining the newspaper class in the upcoming school year, says, “I am very excited to have Mrs. Anderson as the newspaper advisor next year! I have loved having her as my English teacher for three years now, and I know that she is gonna be the best advisor ever.”
With the current seniors leaving and many new students joining, Mrs. Anderson is excited to see how this new group of students will go about running the newspaper class next year.
She says, “I think that Ms. Alvarez and the current and past staff have put such an amazing product into place that is such a good and positive culture piece for our campus… I want to honor the traditions that have been set, to move forward with everything that has worked.”
Although there will be a new advisor, Mrs. Anderson doesn’t plan on bringing any major changes to the newspaper. Mrs. Anderson plans on relying on student input for any changes or ideas they want to bring to the class.
Next year will be the first year where the newspaper class is not a 0-period class, and instead, part of a block schedule. This extended class time allows Mrs. Anderson and the rest of the newspaper team to change up the schedule and use the class time more productively.
While these changes to the Growling Wolverine seem major, Mrs. Anderson ensures that the atmosphere of the class will remain the same, and she looks forward to contributing to the newspaper team next year as the new advisor.
