Thomas Jefferson third graders learn importance of community, its newspaper

Newton has been growing and changing in the past few years, with new initiatives and plans in the works for the city. To teach their students about communities and why the newspaper serves as an important part of the community, the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School third-grade co-teaching team of Megan Frehse and Lucinda Sinclair decided to introduce their students to their local newspaper.

“We went through each part of the paper, explaining the different parts of the paper, explaining the purpose behind each section and how it serves the community and why it’s important,” Sinclair said.

The class also had a chance to interview Newton Daily News Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing, who said he was excited about the opportunity to be a part of the event at TJ.

“I thought it was wonderful,” Rushing said. “I am all about promoting journalism, and instilling the love of journalism in people at a young age is a great thing. It was great to see them get involved and respecting the newspaper.”

Rushing was asked many questions, including what story was his favorite to write and which school is his favorite.

“I didn’t give a straight answer to [the favorite school question] because that is a hard question because I love all of my schools equally,” Rushing said.

The students will be producing their own newspaper with the information they received from the interviews. Rushing complemented the class on their efforts.

“It’s further proof that the newspaper will never die,” Rushing said.