Every term a small group of budding young writers get together to produce a school-wide student newsletter which seeks to keep students up-to-date with news from within the school community and address some of the current global issues.
They’ve called it On Campus, which is a fitting name for a newsletter that proclaims its modus operandi proudly on the front page as “for students, by students!”
It began last year when Year 12 student Morgan Au identified a need to improve the school’s news offerings for the sake of his peers. “I was perplexed about how students heard about what’s happening in the school so I sent an email to Mr Lindsay (Head of Senior College) and within two weeks the newsletter was off the ground,” Morgan said.
Morgan confesses at the time of its launch he had no idea how to run a newsletter, write an editorial policy or lead a team of students. Nonetheless, after he introduced the idea at a school assembly, an eager team of students was quickly formed. Together, the students formulated a plan and, with guidance from English Teacher Rachel George, released the first issue in Term 3 of last year.
“It was challenging at first,” said Morgan. “It was definitely enjoyable but the challenge came before the enjoyment. It was hard to get everything together.”
Fast forward one year and it’s clear the newsletter has found its groove. A crack team of photographers, journalists and editors work hard to find stories and compile the newsletter, which is now released twice a term. The students are responsible for everything from researching stories to conducting interviews, writing articles and newsletter design.
Current Editor-In-Chief and Year 11 student Olivia Bishara has always loved writing so when Morgan was looking for help, she jumped at the opportunity, “Funnily enough, I had the idea myself, so when Morgan started it up, I was so excited. I was glad someone else was thinking the same way!” Olivia said.
Olivia took over the leadership of the newsletter at the beginning of the year, which has allowed Morgan to focus on his IB studies. She’s hoping to take the newsletter into new territory. “Future issues will feature more student-opinion pieces,” she said. “The team are interested in not just keeping up with what’s going on but also saying ‘this is our take on what’s going on’.”
Ethan Crosweller
