Each student got a media job title with their own area of responsibility, and in groups of six, each group had to produce a newspaper front page by the end of the day.
Teachers gave the young media crews story leads about a fictional earthquake at Greymouth.
By following the leads, the teams had to change priorities during the day, while working to strict deadlines.
Most of the students were enthusiastic about their hectic day, but found the deadlines a bit stressful.
"It is exiting, but I am not sure I would want to be this busy every day. I think it is a good way for us to learn about structure and working under pressure," Ruby Neutze said, when she allowed herself to briefly look up from writing her news article.
Margaret Wilson, who teaches year 9 English at Wakatipu High School, agreed there were important lessons to be learnt from imitating the media.
"The students learn a lot about being focused and working to deadlines, and they also learn to take responsibility while being creative."
"Journalism Day" would become a permanent fixture in the year 9 programme.
