Spontaneous road trips, endless hours of freedom, concerts, and trips to the beach are now being replaced by pop quizzes, structured time, athletic events, and homework. This can seem daunting, or it can be seen as an opportunity; a cleansing of the perhaps tedious, overwhelming, or lengthy summer we have just encountered.
Football’s Friday Night Lights are earned by putting in the grueling hours in the summer during two-a-days and being a Cross Country athlete is not something that cannot be taken lightly, as 6:00 am runs are part of that responsibility. Just like our athletes have been anticipating the 2012-2013 school year, the Krier staff has put substantial time into improvement and preparation this summer. Our summer was spent selling ads to fund the Krier and going to meetings preparing for the school year.
All of us have a vivid picture of what the first day of school looks like. Although this day is accompanied by feelings of dread and anxiety, there is an unmistakable feeling of curiosity surrounding it. Maybe if we put our egos aside, we can admit that there is a part of us that looks forward to going back to school. Adolescents aren’t programmed to live their lives without structure; we seem to get a bit lost over the summer. Coming back to school and seeing our friends every day is a sort of incentive to show up.
Now that summer has finally evaporated into our memories, school has become a reality. As is customary with the beginning of each new school year, we have seen many changes at Kaneland this year. Most notably, the new schedule change has finally been incorporated as an attempt to boost test scores. The Kaneland Krier also welcomes a new advisor, Kimberly Reese. Mrs. Reese is an English teacher and will complement the Krier with her organized agenda.
Like band or choir, enrolling in Journalism classes to be a part of the newspaper is an elective. We take the class for countless different reasons, whether we simply enjoy writing, taking pictures, or interviewing people. Maybe you don’t like writing or interviewing people, but you like the business aspect of the Krier. There is a wide variety of jobs available; please contact Mrs. Reese if you are interested in taking Newswriting; we always welcome new additions to the Krier!
The Kaneland Krier has the rare privilege of being a high school newspaper that is protected by Tinker Rights. Hazelwood, which is what most high school newspapers are, includes prior review by administration. This leaves very little freedom of expression for young adults that are capable of writing controversial, engaging stories. This makes Kaneland a unique school; an open-minded one that assures adolescents that freedom of speech means putting your ideas into writing for others to enjoy.
With this privilege comes the obligation to open up the newspaper completely to the students of our school. We are open to the ideas and thoughts of our fellow students; we encourage letters to the editors, guest writers, or even feedback on a story we published. Feel free to drop off your ideas into the mailbox outside of B109.
The Kaneland Krier is a publication possessing a history of many hard-working and dignified journalists, many that have pursued Journalism careers into college and beyond. They have fought for and secured our Tinker rights and it is our duty to carry ourselves with class at all times. We take pride in our history and origin and are looking forward to carrying on the tradition this year. Our main goal is to stay to timely, objective and present newsworthy stories. Please let us know if we are staying true to our goal this school year.