It was 8^th-grade Journalism Day at Woodbury Middle School on March 19, and students in Adam Brutting’s ELA classes met with members of the Nonnewaug High School Chief Advocate to talk story ideas, angles, headlines, ledes, captions, relevance, and more. 

NHS Chief Advocate advisor Conor Gereg brought this group of student journalists to WMS, many of whom, just a year ago, were learning the basics as 8^th graders, and now have several articles on a variety of topics published at the Chief Advocate. WMS students shared their story ideas with their peers. They received guidance on topics such as interviews, grabbing the audience with headlines, and making even bigger national stories relevant to their school community. 

WMS and NHS have partnered since 2022 to bring journalism students together for a workshop. This collaboration introduces middle school students to journalistic writing as they prepare for high school and provides insight into the development of their peers’ interest in news writing. Completed student articles are edited by the Chief Advocate staff and published in the Junior Chief Advocate, a section of the website created in 2022 to showcase eighth‑grade work.