H-TIMES: between human identity and digital writing, the internationally inspired project created by students for students

A major project has landed at school: H-TIMES. What is it? It is a genuine blog created by students for students. It has been able to amplify the voices of girls and boys eager to share their stories. More than just a blog, it is a structured and diversified virtual space dedicated to young MYP writers. It represents a meeting point capable of satisfying their need to express themselves and to stay updated. It aims to be the starting point for waving a vibrant, effective, and evolving network among young students. 

The project began to take root from an idea perhaps born somewhat by chance but mostly out of the students’ need to express themselves, in January of the current year, during the storytelling course of the MYP Italian teacher, Mr Francesco Ramagli. Its main purpose is to let students express themselves by writing about current news, art and culture news, and school news. The blog has gradually diversified internally through the publication of content of various kinds, including columns and news regarding the Campus, interviews with teachers, and even tips useful for choosing educational paths. Thus, students dive firsthand into a comprehensive journalistic experience: they learn to work on the creation and customisation of the official H-TIMES website, the management of specific tools, content production, punctual programming of publications, and adherence to an editorial plan. But why is it called that way? The name of the project, H-TIMES, is obviously not a random choice. In fact, the intention has always been to reflect the true nature of the blog: to maintain the Human identity of the Campus and give it that special and welcoming air that can only be breathed within an international editorial office.

The blog presents multiple significant functions: exposing issues related to school life in which students can see themselves, assisting students grappling with decisive choices regarding their curricular future and, ultimately, promoting accessibility to information functional to school dynamics. A prominent example is Leone Mietto, a student from MYP4 D class, who had the pleasure of sharing his personal experience lived here, after openly discussing with his peers. What did he tell us? The first entry into school is seen by new students, at the beginning of their educational journey, as a barrier. This barrier to destroy consists of choosing study paths, a phase not at all simple for a young boy finding himself familiarising within a totally new environment. The same boy, by seeing his interest in the subject soar more and more, took an important step by pioneering this school digital chapter: he became the curator of one of the blog’s most popular columns, teacher interviews. In this way, H-TIMES becomes for Leone the means to give voice, literally, to curious stories and to give dimensionality to the figure of the teacher. Leone, enthusiastic, tells us that:“I believe that behind a teacher there is a much bigger story than what you see. […] I believe it can be inspiring, because we are in class, we see the teacher explaining, but through the interviews we discover what is behind that person, we discover that there is a life, a story, and much more. This can be transmitted through interviews and the blog”.

Two MYP4 students, Isabella Card and Sandy Lee Agnolon, had the pleasure of sharing their experiences as editors of H-TIMES. Sandy asserts:“I have always been fascinated by books, and it has always been my dream to create through writing and, above all, to share it with others”. Isabella, on the other hand, states:“One of the most interesting aspects of H-TIMES is having various topics of different natures. For example, there are tips on films and books, school rules, news about the Oscars, school trips […]. There are many topics to discuss, there are articles to read for all tastes”. The girls conclude by affirming that becoming journalists has always been their greatest dream. Sandy continues:“Thanks to this blog, I can truly prepare for my dream of being able to write”. Isabella, finally, concludes by saying:“I remember that 3 or 4 years ago, I watched the film ‘The Shattered Glass’, immersing myself in the story of the protagonist Stephen Glass, an associate editor of The New Republic. From that moment on, I fell in love with the idea of becoming a journalist and, in general, of writing”.

Therefore, just by scrolling, day by day, through the news shared by H-TIMES, readers come into contact with a varied world entirely to be discovered. The blog is capable of generating interest through the drafting of reflections on life spent within the school, topics of current relevance such as mental health, and even delving into pleasant artistic-cultural suggestions regarding readings and songs of the moment.

On the whole, a project born from an intuition has been able to transform itself into a concrete channel of communication and sharing of thoughts. A formative experience for students and also for teachers who, together, never cease to enrich their personal baggage. 

Ultimately, amidst a constellation of words, looks, and photographs, H-TIMES now dreams big and wants to broaden its horizons. It aims at extending its production to also involve a new target audience: external readers, curious and interested in discovering what happens at H-FARM International School.

You can consult the blog here: H-TIMES