It was 8:30 AM, and the 50 students from the two fifth-grade classes at Saint Roch 2 School were already all set up and arranged into 5 groups of 10 students, each tasked with writing an article and publishing it online during the day. The editorial conference could begin with the topics to be addressed: The Nice East Community Center, St Roch Market, Press and Media Week at school, Scolaweb, and the coverage of this day.
Once the topics were distributed to each group, the apprentice journalists received a first visit with Lilia Parisot from the Nice School District, Lauriano Azinheirihna, Deputy Mayor of Nice in charge of education, and Jean-Paul Delbrayelle, teacher and initiator of the Jules Romains College web radio, inaugurated last Monday in the opening of Press and Media Week. The first interview was dedicated to Lauriano Azinheirihna, who explained why St Roch 2 was chosen to participate in this operation: “Indeed, St Roch 2 is a model school in new technologies as it is equipped with a mobile classroom, interactive whiteboard, and the SCOLAWEB school web journal designed by the City of Nice and made available for free to any school simply by requesting via email.”
It was now time to head out into the field. The direction was the Nice East Community Center, where the students were awaited by Guy Maurin, Director of the City’s community life service. Many questions were raised about this community space, which has now become an integral part of life in Saint Roch. “It’s an interesting experience, and we are very happy that our Community Center is a topic for an article by these neighborhood children, some of whom have entered for the first time since it opened last year.”
No time to waste, and after snapshots taken by budding photographers, the St Roch Market was the second field of investigation. Farmers, fishmongers, bakers, and florists received visits from the school’s neighborhood “pitchouns,” eager to know what time they started their day or how long they’ve been in their profession. An impromptu breadstick distribution, and it was back to school for a well-deserved break.
Back in class, the workshops resumed their activities. What is a headline, a lead? How is information structured? Which photo to choose? Instructions were given, and the first headlines were proposed, such as the delightful “At Saint Roch, encounters in a supermarket” suggested by Marvin. Photos flashed by on the giant screen, and the groups could freely choose from the snapshots they had taken during the outing.
4 PM, and the last group completed their article, and the posting could start on the Nice Premium information site and soon on the school’s SCOLAWEB school journal, as well as on the new Digital Workspace of the district.
A round of applause punctuated this beautiful day filled with good times and sharing, and the final word was for a student who offered a special thanks: “Today was great because we didn’t work…”
And yet…
