Student Voices

Montrose juniors, Tara Sennott ’13 and Kathleen Lockhart ’13 have a new vision for Montrose School’s newspaper The Looking Glass. As editors-in-chief this year, they have taken the beloved paper in a new direction, brought it into the 21^st century and made it more accessible and relevant for its readership – Montrose students. Tara and Kathleen have taken The Looking Glass online.

 

For many Montrose students and alumnae, The Looking Glass has always been a labor of love, and Tara and Kathleen were hooked as freshman when they began working as writers on the newspaper staff. The girls noticed, however, how difficult it was for the newspaper team to keep news current and relevant for Montrose students given the time consuming publication and print process. Tara and Kathleen also took note of what was happening to print newspapers in their local towns and region. Today’s readers, especially teenagers and young adults, look for news and events online before opening a paper, and they saw their own peers following that trend.

 

Tara and Kathleen did not want to see The Looking Glass fail due to outdated news, missed deadlines, and the trend toward online readership. More importantly, however, they did not want to lose such an important part of Montrose history - one that has always given a voice to students. Encouraged by teachers, advisors and friends, Tara and Kathleen stepped up and into leadership positions for the paper.  “What’s so great about Montrose is that the school encourages you not to hold back, so you feel empowered to start something new or take on a leadership role,” said Tara. “When my advisor and I would talk about my interests, the newspaper always came up. When I mentioned my frustrations, she said to me, ‘why don’t you do something about it?’ So I felt confident and empowered to go for it.”

 

Enthusiastic about their new positions as editors-in-chief, Tara and Kathleen spent last summer researching online school newspapers. They found a user friendly, professional website designed to help students create effective online papers and decided to go for it.  Tara and Kathleen then went about developing an organized structure for the newspaper and its staff. The paper is divided into sections: News, Arts & Entertainment, Opinion and Sports. Each section is managed by a section editor. Staff writers report to the section editors, who report to the editors-in-chief. Currently, there are fifteen students who make up The Looking Glass team.

 

“This year, our focus is on unity,” said Tara. “We are bringing our staff members together regularly to make sure we communicate effectively and meet deadlines.” Tara and Kathleen are also committed to the quality of the journalism. “We want to keep the writing at the highest level,” they said. They plan to hold workshops with professionals who can teach staff members more about reporting and writing on a deadline.

 

The Looking Glass is now a living, working document handled entirely online. Tara and Kathleen set up a Gmail account and run all of their stories through Google Docs – an online document-sharing program, which allows their writers and editors to work together online at any time, constantly editing and updating. Once Tara, Kathleen and faculty advisor Ms. Abby Murphy have reviewed and signed off on an article, it is published to the newspaper’s official site: http://lookingglass.montroseschool.org

 

When asked why they are so passionate about The Looking Glass and giving it an online presence, both Kathleen and Tara mention the need for student perspectives. “We want to give students a voice,” they said. The newspaper staff also wants to provide news and opinions to which students can relate. “We want to contextualize world events and relate them to what Montrosians are doing and seeing at Montrose, in Medfield and in their own communities.”

 

With this in mind, the newspaper team has developed a site that is current, interactive and vibrant.  News and photos can be updated regularly, and readers can make comments online.

 

Kathleen, Tara and all the members of the newspaper staff are pleased to announce that Montrose School’s new online newspaper, The Looking Glass, has been officially launched. Montrose students, parents, alumnae and friends are invited to visit http://lookinglass.montroseschool.org to read what Montrose students are thinking, learning and discussing – and feel free to join the conversation!