The Crucial Cougar News at Cash Elementary School capped off a phenomenal first year of their newspaper club with an international award for community engagement from the digital library platform Sora.
Sora, a program from OverDrive Education, is a digital reading app that gives students access to eBooks, audio books, magazines, and graphic novels on a variety of devices in association with their school libraries. Cash Librarian Jessica Schaefer says that electronic reading solutions like Sora provide young people a more accessible and versatile way to get invested in literature, and in the 2023-24 school year, she wanted to promote that opportunity by giving people around school more reasons to use the app. Her solution was to start a club that would publish a school newspaper through Sora, creating timely and relevant new content for students at Cash and giving members of the club a chance to practice their writing skills in a more fast-paced and challenging environment.
“One of the most fundamental things that a kid needs to be successful in their world is the ability to express themselves through writing,” Schaefer said. “I thought that a newspaper club would get them practicing their writing in a fun way.”
The student body agreed, and about two dozen students lent their talents to The Crucial Cougar News in its first year. They worked in pairs to brainstorm ideas, interview students and teachers, and draw attention to lesser-known programs and events throughout their school. Every month, they produced a new issue of the paper filled with articles, trivia, jokes, and even a contest to find the hidden cougar among the pages and win a prize. Sometimes, the amount of work that needed to be done was overwhelming, but the news crew was driven by curiosity and creativity to always put forth their best efforts.
“I didn’t expect it to be so much work,” said Fifth Grader Ryleigh Matthews. “There’s only so much we can do at a time, but there’s a lot more that we want to cover.”
For many members of the news crew, working on The Crucial Cougar News was a window into the world of professional writing. They learned about the pillars of ethical journalism and why it’s important for news writers to be thorough, accurate, fair, and independent in their reporting. They even took a field trip to FOX8’s newsroom to get a better sense of what a normal day of professional news production is like. If these students pursue journalism after graduation, they’ll have a solid head start when it comes to understanding the mission of the job.
“You can’t just write stories,” said Fourth Grader Dylan Carson. “You have to pay attention. You have to make sure you’re communicating clearly and getting everything right.”
What truly set The Crucial Cougar News apart last year was its community engagement. Not only did the paper get more people at Cash reading on Sora, but it got many students to take their writing more seriously and involved even more students and teachers through interviews and promotions. A class of EC students even joined the production team by delivering physical editions of the paper to classrooms, which EC Teacher Assistant Sarah Kotelnicki says gave them valuable practice with motor skills and social interactions. By becoming such a key staple of campus culture in such a short span of time, The Crucial Cougar News attracted attention in Sora’s School Stars contest, which is open to schools using the platform all around the world. Awards were given out for a singular grand prize and five subcategories, and thanks to The Crucial Cougar News, Cash won the international prize Best in Community Engagement.
The prize came with a $500 stipend for educational resources that Schaefer feels will make a big difference once reinvested in the school. More importantly, though, she’s proud of the tireless efforts of the news crew that got them this far. Despite requiring early mornings, complex projects, and unfamiliar challenges, The Crucial Cougar News attracted a very committed team that was always up to the task. Schaefer can’t wait to see how these student journalists grow even more in the future.
“It was something that they didn’t have to do, but they chose to do it, and they did it well,” Schaefer said. “I think it’s only going to grow bigger from here and the experience is going to just keep getting better for everyone.”