The Free Press, Mankato, MN

July 28, 2009

NIE Brainwave staff application

What are the responsibilities of a Brainwave staff member?

Brainwave staff members are 9th -12th grade students in The Free Press readership area. One of the jobs of the Brainwave staff members is to formulate essay questions that will be posed to K-12 students. Students will respond to those questions and, after the essays are received, the Brainwave staff members read them and determine which essays to publish in their entirety and which to include in the introduction. A staff member writes an introduction to accompany the published essays each month. This responsibility is rotated so each staff member has the opportunity to write at least one introduction. Staff members are also needed to create illustrations to accompany the essays. The last part of each meeting consists of typing the chosen essays or working on the introduction. There are seven meetings each school year, one each month, with the first in September and the last in April (no meeting in December). We also have one additional meeting (either at the beginning or at the end of the school year) to determine the questions. Staff members must provide their own transportation to and from the meetings (at The Free Press).

*Required information

*Your name:
*E-mail Address
*Street address:
*City:
State: Zip code:
*Telephone number
School:
Grade:
Age:
Gender: Female Male
Hobbies or interests (include extracurriculars & employment):
1. Do you have any journalistic experience? Yes No
Explain
2. Are you interested in creating illustrations to accompany the essays each month? Yes No
3. Will you be able to meet on one Sunday evening per month during the school year? Yes No
4. At some point during the school year, would you be willing to write an introduction to accompany the essays in the newspaper? Yes No
5. Why would you be a great Brainwave staff member?
6. Anything else you want to say?