UnderAge Page

Topics and Summaries
(click on a topic to see the full message)

2006-11-30	Christmas is coming Stories due by Dec. 12
2006-09-22	Story time again It's time to submit stories, photos, etc.
2006-06-02	Thanks for a great year We've had a great year (and now for summer fun)
2006-01-13	Make 2006 great Starting off the New Year
2005-12-28	New Year's stories needed We're out of stories, so send 'em
2005-12-16	Make New Year's Happy Stories Needed for Christmas Break
2005-12-01	Merry Christmas Next deadline Dec. 12
2005-11-21	Let's give thanks ... Stories needed, or no pumpkin pie for you! ;-)
2005-11-10	Git ur stories dun ... ;-) Next deadline Friday, Nov. 18
2005-11-02	Stories are needed We're out of stories ... need some now
2005-10-27	Telegram contest "A Tribute to My Hero" contest
2005-10-20	We're moving along Getting stories, photos ... some ideas for more
2005-10-06	Photo ideas, next submissions Share photo ideas, submissions due Oct. 17
2005-09-28	Chances to contribute
2005-09-07	Don't run out of gas Stories needed to keep Underage Page from running out of gas
2005-08-04	Summer stories Time to get in summer activity stories
2005-07-19	Laura Laser Temple High journalism teacher dies at age 32
2005-06-23	Stories needed pronto Running low on stories
2005-05-27	School's Out, We're Not While school is out, Underage Page continues
2005-05-10	Promos, Stories Send in promo ideas; stories due May 16
2005-04-05	Next Stories Due April 15 Next stories due April 15
2005-03-31	First Issue Runs First issue ran in Thursday's Telegram; a celebration meeting set at 1 p.m. Saturday
2005-03-07	Meetings Held Saturday, Monday Designs for Underage Page discussed
2005-03-02	Next Meetings Meet at 1 p.m. Saturday (those who can't make it may try 5 p.m. Monday)
2005-02-23	Stories, Next Meeting Stories due March 2, next meeting?
2005-02-22	Meeting Saturday, Feb. 19 Photos, graphics to go with stories
2005-02-16	Meet Feb. 19, Discussion Board Meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 at Telegram. Discussion board set up on web site.
2005-02-09	Story/photo Topics Some ideas on stories, photos
2005-02-07	Second Meeting Second meeting held; next meeting Feb. 19
2005-01-27	Meeting Held, Second Feb. 5 32 attend teen page first meeting; second meeting set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5

Full Message Text

2006-11-30	Christmas is coming Greetings all: Hope that everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. It's turning toward Christmas time, and based on the past a lot of people will write stories about the holidays. Let's try to get those in by our next deadline of Tuesday, Dec. 12, so that we can try to run them in time. Also, everybody please be aware that we always seem to be on the verge of running out of stories during the holiday break -- so if you can send in stories, photos, graphics, drawings, etc., beforehand it will be a special holiday blessing for us! Y'all have all been a blessing, and we give thanks for you. Muchas gracias, Jerry

2006-09-22	Story time again Greetings all: Now that y'all have gotten back into the school routine, it's time to get back to the Underage Page routine. For anyone new, we have to have stories to keep publishing the page. The next deadline for stories, photos, graphics, etc. is Friday, Oct. 6. You can probably submit some stories that you wrote about during school assignments. Anyone who has any questions or needs some help coming up with ideas, please contact Jerry at 778-4444 ext. 225 or his cell 940 736 7504. You can also e-mail him at telegramteens@yahoo.com. Thanks to all, Jerry

2006-06-02	Thanks for a great year Greetings all: First of all, let me say thank you to all the people who have made the Underage Page a success from your contributions. Even if you've only sent in one story, or an idea, or a photo -- from the works of many come a lot of good ideas. There have been several teachers, parents and other adults who have been very helpful as well -- so please pass on my sincere appreciation to them. The writers at least get their names in the paper and some recognition -- for the people in the background who help out, sometimes their only reward is a "thank you." And I'll say (without slighting any of the other great contributions from many others) that our shining star for the year has been Belton High School's journalism teacher -- Mrs. Cervenka. She has been so helpful to so many of us. Now that Belton held its graduation last night, I think that school is officially beyond winding down ... it's out for summer! So, I've given our contributors a little time off for "good behavior" and let y'all know at the same time that our next deadline is Monday, June 19. To those of y'all who aren't familiar with the routine, you can do stories and photos about summer activities, vacations or any other items that are of interest to teens. Call 778-4444 ext. 225 if you have questions! Keep up the great work, Jerry

2006-01-13	Make 2006 great Greetings all: Well, the Christmas-New Year's break is over, and y'all should be done with midterm exams this week. I hope that both went well. :-) Our next deadline for stories and photos will be Monday, July 23. (And if anybody has any Friday the 13th bad luck ... or even good luck ... stories, send those in quickly) ;-) Make 2006 the best year ever! Thanks, Jerry

2005-12-28	New Year's stories needed Greetings all: Sorry I haven't communicated lately -- I had to leave suddenly last week when my Dad was put in the hospital, and just got back from my Christmas break. Anyway, we're basically out of stories for next week -- so if any of y'all have those New Year's stories that some people were talking about, or anything else, send it. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. Let's make it a Happy New Year for all with some good stories to start off with. Thanks for all that you have done this year -- it's been a great start to the Underage Page. Let's keep it going. Jerry

2005-12-16	Make New Year's Happy Greetings all: Unfortunately, while we got a number of Christmas stories, it doesn't look right now like we have enough to tide us over during the entire break. So, I'm going to have to ask for a Christmas present from y'all -- some other stories (New Year's anyone?). We'll need them by Dec. 27 (Tuesday) by the latest ... and hope that we have enough to tide over until y'all get back to school. Hope everyone has a very Merry (and safe) Christmas. Thanks, Jerry

2005-12-01	Merry Christmas Merry Christmas all! We've been getting several Christmas-related stories in, which is great -- just wanted to let y'all know that if you have any of those type planned, please let me know ASAP, so we get them all in. The deadline for other stories that we will need before y'all go on your long Christmas break (yeah!) is Dec. 12. I'm hoping to get enough so that y'all can take a little break for the holidays (hint, hint). If any of y'all get bored during your time away from school, feel free to give me a call at the Telegram 778-4444 ext. 225 or on my cell 940 736 7504, and I'll help you come up with some story or photo ideas. Thanks for giving, Jerry

2005-11-21	Let's give thanks ... Greetings all: We were a little underwhelmed with the number of stories sent in this week -- so I thought I'd send out a reminder that we need more stories, pictures, etc. With the Thanksgiving holiday comes the start of a busy season for a lot of people -- Christmas shopping, some of y'all taking on extra hours or part-time jobs to pay for them, etc. All of that can be turned into stories, quite easily, such as what the holidays mean to you and your friends ... or even just a comment to add onto the Underage Page. Topics could include is the Christmas season too commercialized, or will your life be ruined by the shortages of Xbox 360s? I'm sure there are other items that y'all are more knowledgeable than me ... Anyway, we'll need some more stories by Dec. 2 ... or we all may be getting lumps of coal for Christmas. ;-) Have a happy, safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. Jerry

2005-11-10	Git ur stories dun ... ;-) Greetings all: Hope y'all are having a great fall. The deadline for the next round of stories and photos is Friday, Nov. 18. Thanks Jerry

2005-11-02	Stories are needed Greetings all: We are getting to the point that we are in DIRE need of stories! Sooner rather than later (Monday would be the later.) I know that y'all are busy, but if we're going to continue to do the Underage Page we'll need some contributions from a lot more of the people who signed up for this. We have some regular contributors who do a lot, and then there are some who haven't stepped up to the plate yet. Don't be shy, or scared. If you need help working on a story, send me an e-mail or call. I would sure hate to see an effort that a lot of people have put into this be ended. Thanks to all who have done a great job so far, Jerry

2005-10-27	Telegram contest Hey, wanted to let y'all know about an essay contest the Telegram is running. This story ran on page 8C in Thursday's paper. Good luck to all y'all who enter (and I don't mind if you send in your story for the Underage Page, either). Please tell younger relatives and friends, too. Thanks, Jerry Here is story: Hero tribute The Temple Daily Telegram is holding an essay contest,

2005-10-20	We're moving along Greetings all: We're moving along at getting the page going for this school year. It's good to see that we're getting some photos submitted -- which was a slow point last year (probably due to it being our first year and all). Among the stories that we will have coming up that could use some photo or other types of illustration include teen transportation (aka cars), eating habits and diets, and the Temple High Homecoming -- so any photos related to those type of things will (hint, hint) probably get published. It would be a great way to show how you have a really neat ride, or to show a friend's more economical (or even nerdy) transportation. As usual, have fun with it. Thanks to all of our contributors, especially the regular ones. Y'all are getting a lot of praise out there, in case some of you haven't heard it. Our next deadline for stories is Friday, Oct. 28 -- we don't want to get "spooked" (or scooped) for Halloween. ;-) Have a great one, Jerry

2005-10-06	Photo ideas, next submissions Greetings all: Hope y'all are enjoying the "fall" weather -- a little cool front feels great about now. Any fall activities amongst you, your friends and classmates may make some good photos that could be run on the page. Also, if you know of any stories that anyone is writing that could use a photo, please e-mail to telegramteens@yahoo.com or to the folks signed up on this list. The deadline for the next round of submissions is Monday, Oct. 17. Thanks to all, and especially our regular contributors. Jerry

2005-09-28	Chances to contribute Greetings all: I know y'all are busy with school and other actitivities, and wanted to give everyone an opportunity to make an easy contribution to the Underage Page. Just e-mail back a comment from either yourself or another teen who wants to talk about gasoline prices and how they're affecting your everyday life. It could be anything from do you drive/ride to school less, take a bus, not "cruise" as much, have to do extra chores or cut back on other expenses, etc. Other good stories about things that have happened lately include students volunteering for Hurricane Rita relief efforts, disruptions of normal schedules because of the hurricane, etc. Don't forget that we need stories submitted by Friday to have something for next week's page, and then we'll have another deadline -- depending on responses for either the next week or the week after. Thanks so much to our regular contributors for keeping us going! :D Jerry

2005-09-07	Don't run out of gas Greetings Underage Pagers: I'm trying to put together Thursday's page, and just wanted to let you know that we're basically out of stories. Anybody who wants to submit something should do so as soon as possible in order to keep the page going. I know a lot of y'all are busy, so here's some ideas. Get some comments from fellow students (or quote yourself) about the upcoming nniversary of September 11. You could also ask how higher gas prices are affecting teens. Some sample questions to draw comments: How often do you think of the September 11 attacks? What do you think most about it? How has the world changed since September 11? How does the current Katrina disaster compare? Has your attitude toward foreign countries changed since September 11? How and why? As for the gas: How have higher gasoline prices affected your life? Have you had to cut back on driving places? Do you car pool with friends more? Do you take the bus instead of driving to school? Has your family changed driving habits any? Do people mostly gripe about the gas prices and keep doing the same thing they've always done? What is the reason for higher gas prices? What could the U.S. have done to prepare better for higher gas prices? I'll need some comments/stories, etc. in by Tuesday, Sept. 13, in order to do a page for next week. Thanks Jerry

2005-08-04	Summer stories Greetings Underage Pagers: Summer's winding down and with school fast approaching it's time to get all those exciting summer activity stories in! Deadline for the next round of stories is Friday, Aug. 12. Once school starts again, we'll probably try to meet -- so send in any suggested days. I'll probably try to talk to journalism classes and other interested students as well. Thanks, Jerry

2005-07-19	Laura Laser Underage Pagers: In case you haven't heard, we ran an obituary for Temple High School Journalism teacher Laura Laser in Tuesday's paper. She was a big help in getting the page started. When we last communicated she had a strong attitude about her cancer, and I was saddened to see that she lost her battle. If anyone wants to send comments about her, I am thinking about including something about her on the Underage Page this week. We would need it in by Tuesday to put it together. Thanks, and please keep Mrs. Laser's family in your thoughts and prayers. Jerry

2005-06-23	Stories needed pronto Greetings Underage pagers: Just to remind you that our next deadline is Monday, June 27, and WE REALLY NEED STORIES. The stories that we had left over from school are rapidly running out and while we still have some, we will need more to continue doing the page. Please do what you can to continue this effort. Thanks, Jerry

2005-05-27	School's Out, We're Not Greetings, Underage Pagers. Y'all have done an exemplary job at doing stories for the start of our page this year. I've gotten a lot of compliments on your work. So -- y'all get a few days to relax and enjoy yourself as you exit school for the year. The next deadline for stories and photos is ... June 8. Let's keep up the good work through summer (and y'all underclassmen realize that you may be able to turn in some of your work next semester -- hint, hint). Thanks to everyone.

2005-05-10	Promos, Stories Greetings all: Just wanted to let y'all know that feedback has been good regarding the Underage Page. Several things that y'all need to do: -- If you know of any interesting items coming up that we can promo in the top right corner, please contact me by e-mail or phone (778-4444 ext. 225). They don't have to be local -- just something that y'all are interested in. It can also be several weeks in the future. -- The deadline for the next round of stories/photos/graphics or any other suggestions is May 16. I did have one parent type person question why we seemed to have more stories from Belton High Students in the paper. I answered that they are the ones who have submitted more stories (so ... Yeah, Belton, good job! ... and if y'all Temple folks feel any rivalry boiling up, well, the more stories we get the better.) Another question that came up was on several good stories that we've had: like the working students and making your own fashion. On those I'm hoping to get some good "art" -- aka photos -- to go with them. Anyone who can make any suggestions, please do. As for future meetings, there seems to be a lot of busy folks everywhere, so if anyone has a suggested time, please send it in.

2005-04-05	Next Stories Due April 15 jerry: Congrats to our UIL participants! We've got a lot of good compliments from the first page. Keep up the good work. Deadline for next batch of stories is ... (drum roll here) April 15 -- gotta give y'all an idea of what that day will come to mean when the tax man is after you. :D

2005-03-31	First Issue Runs The first issue of the Underage Page ran Thursday, with a lot of good comments coming from readers. Thanks to all of the contributors (and for those whose stories didn't run, don't worry -- we'll have plenty more editions). Be thinking about photos (or "art") to go with stories, such as the teen fashion story. (And big kudos to James Caruana, who took a photo of a fire that ran in the "regular" paper this week. Great shot, James!) A celebration meeting is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday. If you're planning to come, please e-mail with your favorite ingredients (as we're planning on getting pizza).

2005-03-07	Meetings Held Saturday, Monday Meetings were held Saturday and Monday, with much of the discussion on designs for the "Underage Page." We had a lot of good input. Among the points made was a majority favoring bold headlines that would give the page a different look than the rest of the paper. Anyone interested in seeing design possiblities should e-mail Jerry -- he will try to send copies in pdf (which can be read by downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free). We're still shooting for the first page to publish the week after spring break -- stay tuned for details. The deadline for the next round of stories (taking spring break into account), will be Tuesday, March 29. Thanks

2005-03-02	Next Meetings We'll meet to go over design ideas at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Telegram (use west entrance near the conference room). For those who can't attend Saturday, we'll try a 5 p.m. meeting Monday night. Any comments or questions call Jerry at 778-4444 ext. 225. Thanks.

2005-02-23	Stories, Next Meeting For the next stories, let's go for Wednesday, March 2 ... that will give us a couple of days to sort 'em out. Next meeting is probably going to be Saturday, March 5, although it's possible we may try to set an evening meeting to try to get some of the people who can't attend on Saturdays. What do y'all think? (plus, try out discussion board at http://www.temple-telegram.com/nexgen/chat.php) e-mail telegramteens@yahoo.com if you have trouble getting in.

2005-02-22	Meeting Saturday, Feb. 19 A meeting was held Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Telegram. Jerry talked about a need to get more photos, especially related to some of the stories that have been turned in (bravo to James Caruana for some shots, including a great facial expression, of some guys playing Halo 2). Some of the participants came up with plans to get more photos. Some of the Belton students said they are doing graphics with features that they are doing at school, which could be e-mailed to the Telegram. Other stories that were turned in were reviewed by the teen page participants. One of the popular stories was about being scared to ride on roller coasters. Several of the participants noted that they could possibly get pictures of a roller coaster during a

2005-02-16	Meet Feb. 19, Discussion Board Our next meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Telegram. Please respond to say if you can or can't come. Remember stories and photos are due by Friday (sooner is better, if possible). Also, for those of you wanting to work with other participants but who don't really know each other, we've set up a discussion board on our Web site. Go to http://www.temple-telegram.com/nexgen/ and hit the chat button. Your ID should be your first name plus first initial of your last name. You can find your password by clicking on the "forgot your password" item and typing in the primary e-mail address that you sent to us to register. (Anyone who isn't sure can e-mail telegramteens@yahoo.com or call Jerry at 778-4444 ext. 225). Your password will be e-mailed to your primary address. This should help those of you wanting to work together on photos, or story ideas, or just talk about what you want for the page. Thanks

2005-02-09	Story/photo Topics Greetings: Several people on the e-mail list have asked for possible story topics. Y'all have come up with some good ones already -- including some discussed at our meetings. Amongst those are: What's Hot (and Not); schedules of local activities, plays, concerts, etc. of particular interest to teens; a first-hand look at how having military overseas affects families (and friends); movie, CD and game reviews; dress codes; cell phones; drug testing; pregnancies; cliques; security (or lack thereof); media influences on teens; volunteer opportunities; in the Army at 18; gay marriage; abortion; learning economics at high schools (including getting stuff cheaper, making your own clothes and purses -- [NOTE: we already got a story on clothes from a writer that got some good reviews]; local hangouts; what celebrities are doing (and their influence); Teen Voices (Example: what do you think about?); job openings. Or, if you want some examples that other youth sections are doing around the country, go to http://www.naa.org/foundation/yea/resources/res_sites.html Remember that you will need to localize any story idea you borrow from them (you can't just copy and paste their story in and claim it for your own). :-( You need to e-mail in about story or photo topics so we don't get total duplication, such as 30 people writing about how Richard rules at skateboarding. Anybody who is wondering about things, feel free to call the Telegram at 778-4444 and talk to Jerry at ext. 225. Thanks

2005-02-07	Second Meeting A second meeting of teen page participants was held at the Telegram Saturday (Feb. 5). Participants went through some of the stories submitted for the page, giving comments and picking out their favorites. Discussion included urging people interested in photography to submit photos (as high dpi or resolution as possible), and also work with writers to try to get photos related to some of the subjects that they are covering. Assignment sheets were passed around, with people listing the stories/photos they were planning to work on. PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND SHOULD E-MAIL telegramteens@yahoo.com TO LET US KNOW WHAT THEY ARE WORKING ON. The assignments should be turned in by Friday, Feb. 18. The next meeting was set for 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Telegram.

2005-01-27	Meeting Held, Second Feb. 5 Please talk to your friends, classmates, etc. to see if they got this info. Following is a brief synopsis of our January meeting. Thirty-two students attended the first meeting for the Temple Daily Telegram teen page on Saturday, Jan. 15. The meeting was started off with introductions, since the students attend different schools. Participants were then split into groups for activities. Participants discussed potential names for the weekly publication and topics for coverage, and filled out sheets indicating areas where they were interested in participating in, such as photography or stories, design, graphics or the advisory board. Each item was discussed among the entire group. Names suggested, as nominated by the students, were: The Underage Page, The Element, The Real Surreal, Next Extra and Teen Take. Plans are to send a mass e-mail and have them vote on their favorite name, with write-ins accepted (note: you can still vote). The students were asked to take one of the topics that they were interested in (a story or picture) and to submit it to the Telegram by Saturday, Jan. 29. These will be used to see how far along (in a journalism sense) the different students are, plus get an idea of what sort of stories and ideas will be used on the page. Typography and other design items were discussed, with samples of different fonts available and some youth sections from other papers and sample

UnderAge Page

Archives