By Kiara Amaya & Isabel Hicks

After serving as Editors-in-Chief, and writing for the Plaid Press, it’s surreal to have to say goodbye to the community that we have considered a second home. For the past few years, we’ve embraced the opportunity to work with so many uniquely talented writers and immensely cool people. Within the walls of A-11, we’ve built a sense of family with each other that extends beyond the classroom. Our Plaid Press community has paved the way for stronger senses of self and belonging. Having a place to come to amid a hectic school day and knowing you have people who will listen to you or help you with a difficult article is truly special. Building common ground with friends who share our passion for writing is what keeps us coming back year after year.

With the unique opportunity of socializing with like-minded people, student journalism is a passion that we as writers love to share with each other and with the rest of the school community. Our student newspaper serves as a platform for our writers to tell our own stories as well as those of our community. Providing young voices with the opportunity to share their experiences and beliefs is our shared passion.

This year’s Plaid Press staff has placed a huge sense of importance on covering Granada Hills Charter (GHC) news. Sharing the stories, achievements, and awards of familiar students and staff alike is what has made our paper attention-grabbing. By working together to write articles that personally align with the interests of our communities, we have had the opportunity to cover a wide array of sports teams, clubs, events, and more. This emphasis on diversity has improved our experience as writers, allowing us to write freely about what we as students and global citizens care about.

With a new focus on publicity and media, we’ve started making videos in addition to our print newspaper to better engage with the community and bring stories to students directly. A personal favorite of ours is “The Plaid Press Wishes You a Very Nutty Holiday,” where the Plaid Press “interviewed” the squirrels on campus on what they would do while students were on break. Our staff has also worked hard on updating our website and social media accounts which greatly increased readership and interest in reading our work. The improvements in deadline management, organization, and more have let us work together better than ever before as we continue to bounce back from post-COVID years. We are so excited to see the improvements that our changes have caused.

However, all the growth of the Plaid Press could not have been done without our lovely advisor Melissa Spaulding. The Plaid Press would truly be nothing without her, and she continues to serve as our inspiration for journalism. More than just an advisor, she encourages us to write about issues we care about and stand up for what we believe in. She is never too busy to sit down and talk about our articles, provide us with guidance, or lend a shoulder to cry on. She is also never afraid to provide us with constructive criticism to make our writing the best it can possibly be. The welcoming environment and dynamic that she has created only further establishes our love of student press. We speak for us all when we say that Mrs. Spaulding truly feels like a friend. Despite the hardships of advising a student newspaper all by herself, Spaulding has continued to show her dedication to us and encourages us to explore all of our different passions through writing.

Next year we only hope to continue to expand our outreach, and continue to write stories that matter to students.

As Editors-in-Chief, we have had the opportunity to cultivate a space where communication, listening, and teamwork is placed at the forefront. It’s been such a privilege to watch our writers and editors grow in their skills and confidence, we hope that this foundation will continue to enable future leadership.

As the Editors in Chief of 2024, we are so proud of the growth the Plaid Press has shown over the past year, and we’re so lucky to have gotten to know each and every one of you. And to all the future writers and editors of the Plaid Press, we wish you the best of luck, and hope you have just as much fun as we did.