oun 1.

school paper - a newspaper written and published by students in a school

In this digital age and with so many other avenues of communication available to us, it seems
that a school newspaper is outdated and irrelevant, imparting news that has already been hashed
to death over social media and student texting. There is some validity to that when you only
consider school news that has already been captured by cell phones, tablets, and other avenues of
communication. However, that is not the reason for having a school newspaper club.

Even in the days when such technology didn’t exist, newspapers were not the primary source of
information for the student body. The final score of a game or who the king and queen of the
homecoming game were may fill up space in a newspaper, but it was always information that the
majority of the student body already knew. In that regard, nothing has changed.

So why have a newspaper club?

There are many reasons, and a few of them are detailed here. We feel that each and every school
can benefit from a newspaper club, and we want to help you achieve this worthy goal.

#1 – STUDENTS NEED A VOICE

tudents of any age need the freedom to express themselves in a manner that is respectful, thoughtful, and
accepted. A newspaper club can give those outspoken individuals a voice that is done in a way that brings
credibility to the writer as well as to the school. It also allows teachers and administration to monitor the
content to ensure appropriateness and relevance.

A newspaper club is more than just a means to disseminate information. It is the voice of the student body. It is
a place they can voice their opinions, their ideas, and their ideals. The main reason or giving students a voice is
that those who feel they can enter the dialogue become participants, rather than spectators. Spectators only
complain and harbour grudges. Participants are more apt to listen to both sides, to be positive contributors, and
to care.

A newspaper club is apt to be this voice even more so than the student council. Every student can have an
opportunity to have their voice heard in the newspaper, but they may not have that opportunity with the student
council.

#2 – JOURNALISM WILL NEVER DIE

Regardless of the way technology evolves and changes, there will always be a need for writers and those with
the skill to turn a word and voice an opinion. The pen is still mightier than the sword as Twitter, Facebook, and
other social media outlets have rediscovered. All these outlets do is give people a voice, a form of journalism.

With a newspaper club, your students can learn the importance of good journalism. Students can learn to write
and convey their thoughts, ideas, and impressions. They can learn the value of solid research and the dangers
of misinformation and slander. This level of professionalism will not be learned on Twitter or Facebook. But a
newspaper club could be the foundation upon which these qualities of journalism can be learned.

#3 – LEARN VALUABLE SKILLS

Writing is a skill. Editing is a skill. Design and layout are skills. Photography is a skill. A newspaper club can
provide the basis to learn these skills, enhance these skills, or refine these skills. Students involved in a
newspaper club can put into practical application the skills being taught to them in the classroom. One
significant difference is that the newspaper isn’t a homework assignment and won’t be seen as such. It is a
club. They do it because they want to.
Watching the quality of your newspaper improve over the year is a wonderful feeling. Seeing the pride a
student takes in his work (written, layout, or photography) is invaluable, and these skills may prove pivotal as
they move up in their education or join the workforce.

#4 – A MEANS OF STUDENT
DISCOVERY
By this, we mean the opportunity to connect people to each other in ways they never knew. Everyone has a
story, but not every story is told or known. In each school, there are students, teachers, and administrators with
interesting stories that the student body would benefit from hearing.

Many schools pay money to bring in a Big Name to give a rousing and inspirational speech, but there is likely
many just as inspirational stories already in the school just waiting to be told. A newspaper club is a way to
connect those stories to the student body, thus building comradeship and student discovery of one another.

Teachers love when students decide to start their own paper. It shows
responsibility, confidence, and willingness. It says that you are a confident
leader and you know what you're doing. They can also be a lot of fun!

Ask your principal for permission to start the paper

Decide what your paper will be like. Will it be a daily, weekly, or monthly
paper? What will be in your paper? Sports,events, weather, book/movie
reviews, crosswords, comics, and horoscopes are commonly included.

Create a sign up sheet with the newspaper's information (when, where will
you meet? A good idea would be to meet in the library during your
independent working time. And what are the qualifications?). Make sure to
include the positions available.

Post the paper somewhere where everyone will see it, like the cafeteria.

Contact your staff and remind them where and when to meet.

Decide on the paper's name with your staff during your first meeting. You
can use your school's name. (ex: Turtle Creek Elementary School
Newspaper) Or you can be more original, and add in words like gazette,
journal, bulletin, times, etc. (ex. Turtle Times)

Inform your writers of the requirements of their specific job. Then assign
deadlines, and tell them how to get them to you. The best choice is to have
them e-mail articles to you.

When you get the articles, edit and correct them with the writers.

Enter the final drafts onto a newspaper template, have your adviser look over
it and make any last-minute corrections. Print the copies the day before the
delivery. Whatever is about 3/4 of your school's population would be a good
amount of copies. Make sure that if you're format is back to front, or more
complicated, that your adviser, or technology teacher is the one who prints
out the papers. Deliver whenever you're ready.