The Villano View is the voice of students at Patrick M. Villano School in Emerson, New Jersey. Students in grades five and six interview people, write stories, and take pictures that are uploaded online each month. Christian Velez, a current sixth grade student, creates cartoons for The Villano View. He is the current editor-in-chief.
“It is a big responsibility but it is super fun,” Velez said. “I had been doing The Villano View since fifth grade, and I joined because it seemed like fun to write about the things that are happening.”
April Catuogno, a fourth grade teacher, started the online newspaper club.
“I truly enjoy being the adviser for The Villano View because it allows me to share with students the best parts of my first career – being a journalist,” Catuogno said. “For me, being a journalist wasn’t just a job. I truly felt like I was performing a public service. I spoke to all kinds of people and investigated answers to questions. Those answers often shaped people’s personal opinions and decisions. Now, I teach young reporters how to ask solid open questions, write an interesting lead and thoroughly research a topic.”
The Villano View has been operating since 2017. Before that, Catuogno was the newspaper and television advisor at Emerson Junior-Senior High School.
