On November 6, eight Spyglass staff members, Spyglass faculty advisor and Dean of Lower and Middle School Student Support Ms. Masami Hansen, and Lower School Teacher Ms. Linda Peacore packed into a van and headed to the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia. This marks Spyglass’ third year in a row attending the conference, which changes locations annually. We arrived in a daze, making our way through the bright airport and into the sticky Philly air. Once at the hotel, we all fell asleep excited for our first day in the city.
On our first morning, three of us woke up at 6:00 a.m., hungry for breakfast and excited for our tour of the National Constitution Center, which offered an in-depth lecture about the history of Philadelphia and the Constitution.
On the other side of town, Tekle S.-J. ’27 vlogged the rest of the group’s trip to Levain Bakery, where they enjoyed the infamous chocolate chip cookies and chai. After our morning of activities, we all returned to the hotel before heading out again for lunch at the famous Reading Terminal Market.
As the group strolled through the market, the air was filled with aromas of fresh fish, warm pastries, and barbecue. Feeling energized after our meal, some of us headed to the United States Mint, a building where the majority of United States coins are made, while the others stayed at the hotel to catch up on homework.
That evening, we enjoyed a staff dinner at Mission Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant, before heading back to the packed hotel to listen to keynote speaker Matthew Henderson. Henderson’s speech provided interesting insights into journalism and short filmmaking. Henderson is known for his work in the documentary series The Soul of America and cooking shows like Salt Fat Acid Heat. After his presentation, we headed upstairs and got ready for bed, excited about the day ahead of us.
The next morning, we attended convention workshops like “The Caitlin Clark Effect: How it Impacts Journalism,” “Using AI in Scholastic Journalism,” “10 Steps to a Better First Drafts,” and “The Pain of the First Amendment.” These workshops taught us about new tools and ideas about how we can structure or better our school’s newspaper. Frances B. ’27, a first-time attendee of the conference, said, “I went to two really useful sessions about interviewing where we got to talk to other student journalists and practice what we were learning. I had to find similarities with people and even talk about our vulnerabilities. It was really meaningful [and] I know it will make me a better interviewer.”
On our last day at the conference, the staff attended a workshop led by our very own Spyglass editors Kristin C. ’26 and Rebecca L. ’27. Their presentation titled “Data Journalism: How to Turn Numbers Into Stories” taught us how to analyze data effectively and create meaningful class surveys for news writing.
After their presentation, we had a quick turnaround, heading straight to the airport for a long flight back to Los Angeles. This time, however, we carried a clearer vision of how to enhance our program. “I learned so much about journalism and writing that I could apply when I got back,” Frances reflected. Whether it’s through improving the website, using data to strengthen stories, or utilizing our connections for interviews, each of us left inspired and with actionable goals to elevate Spyglass even further.
