The Staff

The Paw Print is the Brookfield High School student run newspaper. Dedicated to providing students with current, accurate, and unbiased information on recent issues that affect both the students, the community, and the world. The club started three years ago publishing only one newspaper a year; currently we publish four issues a year and now offer the newspaper online.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Kate Matson (Editor) assists our editor in chief in making sure that The Paw Print publications are timely and accurate. She specializes in writing various articles and editing the work of other writers on the staff. As a junior and a third year member of The Paw Print staff, Kate is a great addition to the group and a devoted worker in everything that’s thrown at her. She was selected along with another member of the staff, Michelle Brandt, to be co-editor in chief for next year’s publications. Her goal is to keep the paper interesting and appealing to the student audience next year. Kate is a member of the Drama Club here at BHS and is making her third stage appearance in the school play this fall. She is the proud daughter of happily married parents Laurie and Michael Matson (of Matson Financial Advisors) and sister of former BHS graduate Kyle Matson. Her aspiration is to go to MiddleburyCollege in Vermont to potentially major in journalism and become an author.

Michelle Brandt (Editor), also known as Shelf, specializes in the graphic design of The Paw Print as well as writing multiple articles and participating in the overall editing of the publication. She has participated actively on the newspaper staff for all three years of her high school career and is the co-editor of the newspaper alongside Kate Matson. Besides her connection with The Paw Print, she is involved in the school play for the second time this year in addition to being the runner of the Girls’ A Capella. She plays softball for the varsity team and is a member of the Drama Club. Older sister to sophomore Katie and seventh grader Michael, Michelle has taken on the role of being a leader in all aspects of her life. She is the proud daughter of happily married parents Jim Brandt (teacher at John Jay High School) and Cathy Brandt (of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty). Her aspiration is to attend the College of St. Rose in New York and potentially major in communications.

Justin Weigel (Photographer/Writer) is a freshman here at Brookfield High School, he is an esteemed Photographer for The Pawprint and proud to be. Justin is a part of the Big Brother Big Sister program among other activities. In his spare time he likes to spend time outdoors biking, running, swimming or quading. Justin loves taking pictures for the newspaper and will continue to be in The Pawprint all of his years at Brookfield High School.

Alexis, also known as Lexi, is a freshman here at Brookfield high school and she has a great love for writing. She recently got involved with the PawPrint as a writer and she is loving it. Along with her writing, she also has a passion for softball. She has been playing ever since she was a little girl and is now a catcher for the Brookfield Burn softball team. Lexi has her two sides, her sporty her girly side. You can always find Lexi singing her favorite songs. A dream that she has always had was to audition for American Idol and hopes to peruse it one day. She also likes to get involved with her community through tutoring, participating in the yearly Rake and Bake, and various fundraisers. She has a big heart, likes to have fun, and is always in the go

Jessica Schwartz is a senior at Brookfield and this is her first year writing for the Paw Print. Jessica has been an active member of Special Chorus/Small Group (Vice President) and Drama Club (President) for the past 4 years. You can find her “How to” column every issue, mostly because she’s obsessed with that Kate Hudson movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and feels the need to be like the superstar actress at BHS. She is an avid watcher of television and rarely gets off her couch when not in school or participating in one of her many after-school activities.

Thomas Walker is a senior at BHS and in his first year of writing for the Paw Print. Thomas’ interests include sports and the great outdoors; coincidentally, he is highly allergic to poison ivy (aka the devil plant) and tries to avoid it at all costs which is difficult considering Brookfield seems to be 70% forest. Anyway, Thomas is passionate Duck Dynasty (Google it) fan. He likes it because it’s all the joy of the outdoors without the itching. He loves to laugh and will probably laugh at everything and anything. So if you tell a bad joke, it’s ok, he will laugh at it and tell you how funny you are*. His favorite season is Summer where he likes to boogie board and work on his Irish tan. Thomas is looking forward to contributing to this up and coming paper and making his last year at BHS the best it can be.
*Disclaimer: Thomas makes no promises that he actually thinks you are funny. He is simply there for a morale boost.

Emily Behnke is a senior at BHS, and this is her first year writing for the Paw Print. She participated in the BHS Color Guard for a short period of time, and is currently playing in the percussion section of the BHS concert band. As well as writing for the newspaper, she is also in the creative writing club, and has actively volunteered at Brookfield’s Public Library for three years. Not very good at, or interested in sports, you can find her reading or napping, or making ceramics on a usual day.

Nicole Dallar is the Co-Entertainment Editor of the Paw Print along with Dana Lofink. This is her first year on the newspaper. She manages Boys’ Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track and Field. Nicole plays on the No-Cut Tennis team and participates in Project Clear. She is an active member of National Honor Society, and an alto in Small Group. Her younger sister, Kimberly, is currently a freshman at Brookfield High. Nicole loves all fields of science, especially chemistry, and plans to major in both Environmental Science and Film. Outside of school, she enjoys television, running, drama, and spending time with her family and friends.

Jason Walega is a freshman at BHS who’s been in the school district all his life. He was involved with the newspaper at HHES, didn’t do it in Whisconier, and is glad to be back now. He wants to become a marketer when he’s older, so you’ll find him at DECA and anything else business related. Outside of school you’ll find him skiing, bowling, or just chillin’ with his friends. Jason is also the school’s biggest fan of winter. If you like snow more than he does, you should probably move to Alaska.

Madison Zoey Vettorino (writer) is a sophomore this year at BHS. While Madison loves writing for the Paw Print, she also spends her time writing long stories, short stories, and poetry. She wrote a book that was published in 2013 called All That Glitters! Madison’s other passion is musical theatre. She dreams of someday writing books, performing on Broadway, and traveling the world.