WOODBURY — Nonnewaug High School’s journalism program is planning on expanding with the creation of the Quill and Scroll Honor Society.
The former Woodbury High School held a charter for Quill and Scroll, which is an international organization that recognizes students for outstanding work in high school journalism, video production, and yearbook production. Nonnewaug plans on reactivating the club this year.
NHS journalism teacher Conor Gereg is thrilled to add a new honor society to the school.
“It will provide an avenue for student journalists to hone their skills in the field of journalism,” Gereg said. “While we’re still refining the criteria for induction, we anticipate student applicants will be tasked with covering a specific number of off-campus or after-school stories to gain further exposure to the world of real-world journalism. We also anticipate student applicants will serve as editors in the classroom, helping to facilitate small group skills in writing fluidity, mechanics, and story brainstorming. We’re excited to add this to our program as we look to further validate our program as one of the strongest in the state.”
NHS journalism teacher Kyle Brennan wants this honor society to acknowledge the contributions students have made through the school’s award-winning journalism, video production, and yearbook programs.
“I think we are going to collaborate with our editors and the three journalism advisors to come up with some fair yet rigorous standards for this honor society,” Brennan said. “To maintain membership, members will have to maintain these requirements throughout the year. It’s going to be a good way to recognize the hard work that our media students at Nonnewaug put into publicizing our school community. We have won awards before, but this is a good way to recognize outstanding students.”
Junior Hailey Goldman, who is an NHS Chief Advocate editor, is ready to be committed to the new honor society.
“It would be my first honor society and it’s going to be great to put on my resume,” Goldman said. “I am also very excited that it will just be editors right now. I will be very committed to this honor society because I think together we all have to make rules of being in an honor society together. Like every other honor society, attending should be a big part of it.”
Senior Juliana Bailey, who is also a Chief Advocate editor, is looking forward to the new group.
“I would love to join,” Bailey said. “Honor societies are a great way to show your academic skill and commitment. I think having a new journalism honor society would be a great opportunity for the editors, especially since there are so many of us in journalism.”
Junior Maia Colavito, who is the Chief Advocate editor-in-chief, thinks this is a great stepping stone for NHS journalism.
“It’s a great opportunity, especially for those who have been doing journalism for a couple years now,” said Colavito. “For me, this is my third year doing journalism, and I’m the editor-in-chief, but the class only comes with an honors credit. I feel like a journalism honor society is an addition that will give students like me and Anna Crocker [the Chief Advocate deputy editor-in-chief] better recognition and credit.”
