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Another 500 copies are distributed in the park.

Fulhorst-Kirtland got a grant that paid for this

year’s printing costs.

Little and his wife, Nicole, the Gazette’s publisher,

have given photography and writing workshops

to the kids, and are now getting scooped by

them, Little says. The last edition included an

interview with Yosemite National Park’s new

acting superintendent.

“They had the only interview anyone has with

Cicely Muldoon. I tried to get it, everyone has

tried to get it. But they got the exclusive,”

Little said.

Reader response has been tremendous, Little

said. In one letter to the editor, Judith Ann Durr,

73, wrote to say that she had Alzheimer’s which

made it hard to read. “But when I tried reading

the paper by the Yosemite kids, I just couldn’t

stop,” she wrote. “They get right to the point and

explain things clearly.”

Naturally, the upcoming June edition will

feature some stories on coronavirus, from the

children’s perspective.

Talleulah Barend, a fifth grader, is writing about

how video games are helping people socialize.

There is a story on making masks, and a word

search featuring coronavirus keywords, like

“Zoom.” Graduating eighth graders who are

leaving to attend a high school outside the park

usually get to give speeches. The paper will

publish those.

Reyes-Morris, one of two eighth graders, credits

the paper with helping her find her own voice.

“It gives you a sense of responsibility and for a

small school like us,” she says, “it’s the first time as

kids that we’ve gotten to speak out to the world.”

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