Building stories on Fridays

The Villano View, the student-run online newspaper club at Patrick M. Villano School, is gaining popularity.

“It is a really good thing to spend time on Fridays,” fifth-grader Ivan Jacob said. “You could make fun stuff like stories to entertain people.”

The club meets every other Friday from after school until 4 p.m. Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 may attend. This year, 61 students are on the roster.

“I think it lets students like write stories they want and helps them learn how to write better,” fourth-grader Sal Calafiore said.

“I would say The Villano View is a place where students get to know what it is as a news reporter,” fourth-grader Louis Yacono said.

Adviser April Catuogno used to be a newspaper and television reporter. She teaches interviewing skills so that students’ voices can be used in each story.

“I love the energy of this room on a Friday afternoon,” Catuogno said. “It’s amazing to see elementary students generate such interesting story ideas.”

Catuogno and the students are looking forward to their end-of-year field trip which is at High Exposure in Northvale. The rock-climbing studio gives students a chance to play together after working together so hard all year, Catuogno explained.