PORTER TOWNSHIP | Ali Tomich jumped up and down when she saw the first issue of Boone Grove High School's revamped newspaper The Howl.

"I want kids to be excited about it," the paper's editor said as her journalism classmates distributed copies around the building Tuesday.

Her teacher probably felt a surge of satisfaction, too.

The all-new newspaper -- printed for the first time on real newsprint rather than photocopy pages, and soon to be online -- is partly the outgrowth of a two-week training program that journalism teacher Reggie Flesvig took part in this past summer.

Flesvig was one of about 140 teachers nationwide selected for the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute presented by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Flesvig studied reporting, production and First Amendment awareness at the all-expenses paid program at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., in July. The credits he earned also wrapped up his journalism teaching certification.

Flesvig and fellow participants were charged with bringing that newfound knowledge back to their schools and communities. One way he has done that is in pushing students away from the fluffier fare of last year's paper.

"Don't be afraid to pursue the controversial story," he reported telling his staff.

Issues tackled in this week's paper include increased lunch prices and newly installed carpet that doesn't match.

"(Student journalists are) the voice of the school," Flesvig said. "If something's going on that's not quite right, they're responsible for chasing that story."

Formerly called"Wolf Prints, the paper came out three times last year, photocopied and collated in-house. The Howl, by contrast, is printed on newsprint by a company in Alabama, and nine issues are planned. To pay for the more expensive product, the staff is now selling ads, too.

According to Tomich, as she distributed copies in the cafeteria, students said, "It's an actual newspaper!"