Willow Glen Resident

Education

Ram Gram editor developed school's first newsletter

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

After three years of editing the Willow Glen Middle School Ram Gram, Kyle Mastrolia, a middle school parent, is moving on.

The school's assistant principal, Kitty Iwamoto, has worked with Mastrolia throughout the evolution of the bi-monthly newsletter.

"I hate to see her go," Iwamoto says. "She's awesome, so helpful and efficient and professional. It was like having a paid editor on staff."

When Mastrolia's son, Charlie McIntosh, started the sixth grade, she became involved with the Ram Gram.

"The newsletter gives a lot of additional information directly to the parents," Iwamoto says. "It's a good avenue of communication, and many parents now know what is going on at their children's classes and at the school."

Each issue is sent to 900 parents. Volunteers copy, fold and mail the Ram Gram; teachers and staff write the articles in the newsletter; and Mastrolia edits and puts it all together.

Mastrolia, a technical writer for 12 years, says she was excited about the responsibility.

"It was my first time doing a newsletter," she says.

She learned about the newsletter, and the school's need for an editor, when she attended her first Parent Teacher Association meeting.

"I asked two questions," she says, "and they said that if I asked a third, the job was mine."

Although the newsletter was a year old at the time, the information was essentially a collection of fliers stapled together, she says.

The Ram Gram has grown considerably since Mastrolia took charge of its production.

The first newsletter consisted of three pages, she says. The last Ram Gram she put together was also the longest, at 15 pages.

The enhanced information was developed to encourage parents to become involved in their children's school life, and to inform the community about upcoming events and activities, she says.

"Working parents can't get to every school function," Mastrolia says. "With the newsletter, we can help spread information."

Her son is entering Willow Glen High School in the fall, making it the perfect time to pass her editorship on to another willing parent.

"I am just glad that another parent will be taking over," Mastrolia says. "She'll put her own stamp on it and make it her own."