PVS High School Students Start Journalism Club

The talented writers of PVS are honing their writing skills into creating a school newspaper, The Panther’s Post. This publication, completely produced by our high school students’ newly formed student organization, the Journalism Club, will tell the story of our PVS community. The newspaper will be published at the beginning of each month. The club’s goal is to create a platform where PVS students can explore their passion for journalism, display original creative work, and update their peers on student involvement in other activities inside and outside of school.

Ms. Jennifer Alejo, English teacher, worked with students to fulfill this vision. She serves as a "behind the scenes" advisor to the student staff in charge of the production of the newsletter. When asked about the goal of the newspaper, Alejo says, “We have so many students doing amazing things, and we want to showcase that talent. We also want this to be a true schoolwide newspaper, one which elementary, middle, and high school students can enjoy and engage with.”

During the summer, Alejo hosted a weekly school-wide summer reading discussion group. One of the books the students read was Grit, written by Angela Duckworth. In the book, Duckworth mentions how extracurriculars can play a key role in improving passion, determination, and discipline. Alejo asked students to come up with feasible, yet interesting extracurriculars that PVS could offer. “Many students said that they wanted to have some sort of newspaper or school publication, so the idea of the journalism club was born,” she explains. The Panther’s Post will not only provide news; it will also provide students with a place to showcase creativity through artwork and writing.

Alejo is excited for what’s to come for the newspaper and particularly the talent of the newspaper staff. She says, “Each week, they consistently offer innovative ideas for telling the story of PVS. Ultimately, if we tell that story well, we will have done our job.”

This newspaper aims to create a space that engages students of all interests and hobbies. It will have various pages featuring student accomplishments, student art contributions, an events calendar, a college checklist, monthly departmental and club updates, mental health resources, and more. We will also run a series of stories about the founding of PVS and several features focusing on Muslims in the community.

Deenat Yusuf, a senior at PVS, serves as the editor in chief of the newspaper. She is optimistic about the newsletter and says, “This is a much-needed club that I am excited to bring forth. The goal of this club is to allow students to demonstrate their writing and art skills as well as update the audience about any essential information that constitutes PVS.” She also talks about her vision for the newspaper. “This newsletter can be a means of pride for our school as students. This newsletter will display the high potential of our school, which can serve as a reminder for us every month,” states Yusuf. She describes how the student staff is “such an amazing, diligent team” who “made the entire process a lot easier.”

The newspaper staff is made up entirely of high school students dedicated to making this publication a cornerstone of student life at PVS.

Newspaper Staff:

Deenat Yusuf - Chief Editor (12th)

Naisha Chowdhury - Copy Editor (11th)

Zahra Chowdhury - Copy Editor (11th)

Manal Shala - Design Editor (11th)

Wissal Boudaoud -12th

Muadth Malley - 12th

Ahmad Khatib - 11th

Ali Sultan-Ali - 11th

Jana Elabiad - 11th

Yusuf Mannan - 11th

Yasmeen Abunasrah - 10th

Sara Almoazen - 10th

Zainab Malik - 10th

Taqwa Qattoum - 10th

Nia Yusuf - 10th

Zaheen Chowdhury - 9th

Yasmeen Mannan - 9th