The Steele Post: Creating a Community Connection

By Stacy Miles, Brainna B., and Mikayla H.

The students at Steele Accelerated High School created a Newspaper Club this year based on their interests and desire to connect more students.  Their initial brainstorming meetings led to the ideas of a print newspaper, which they believed should be named by the entire student population.  The Steele students voted on the name Steele Post; however, a printed version never made it to press because of the work involved with fundraising and distribution. The club President, Mikayla H., offered the idea of an online newspaper that could be created using a free web program called Smore. The club members ran with this idea and submitted articles, photographs, and artwork that Mikayla and Vice-President Brianna B. edited and organized using the online program. However, the biggest problem with using the free software was the length of the shared URL when the club was ready to distribute the first edition. The club believed easy access to the paper was a key to a successful paper. With the financial support of Mikayla’s father, the Steele Post got its own domain name: www.SteelePost.com, which has allowed the club to more easily accomplish its goal of connecting students! 

The online paper not only offers information, but also it is an interactive tool with surveys and an area for feedback. With the support of  their newspaper sponsor, Mrs. Miles, The Newspaper Club is currently working on its second edition with a goal to publish a new edition each six weeks. As the club grows, the members hope to produce more editions with more content. Because most of the club
members are Freshmen, the students have a vision that they can use technology and the Steele Post to keep Steele students informed, connect Steele students to each other, and introduce and update the community to what makes Steele great!