Dear North Augusta High School,
I want to thank you all so much for supporting The Buzz this past year. The idea came about in May, when we were wrapping up the end of the last academic year. North Augusta was struggling to figure out how to function during COVID, and everyone was ready for summer vacation. After observing how information was communicated to students throughout my freshman and sophomore years, it was clear that North Augusta needed to reinstitute a school newspaper in order to effectively communicate information to students, as well as the rest of the community. With the help of Mrs. Wells in the North Augusta High Media Center, we were able to make this a reality.
Once Mrs. Wells and I had established that we would work together to make this school newspaper, we recruited a staff. 22 people, including myself and Mrs. Wells, now work together to write, edit, and publish all of the information that can be found on The Buzz website. Of these 22 people, our section leaders have put in special effort. We have Maggie Johnson as the Head of Website Management, AnnElise Baxley as the Editor of the Sports section, Melissa Murph as the Editor of the Features section, and Rachel Walden as the Editor of the News section. These people have helped to make The Buzz function as efficiently and effectively as it does today.
When asked about her time on The Buzz, Sports Section Editor AnnElise Baxley stated that “the sports team is an incredibly hardworking group of individuals … sports [are] such a fundamental thing at North Augusta, and my section has done it justice. The sports group writes about many vast sports topics … that are interesting and informative. I’m so honored to be able to lead and help such a talented group.” Another Section Editor, Rachel Walden, stated that her News Section “started off a little rocky. We weren’t exactly sure how to write these types of articles and we weren’t entirely sure what fell under the news category. However, with each new article, as a team, we became more confident in ourselves and in our abilities. My section has worked hard to improve their writing and their reporting abilities to bring better information to the students.” Finally, Features Section Editor Melissa Murph shares that she’s “observed the changes, impacts, and improvements of the Features Team over the past few months. Together we have grown to work collaboratively and maintain productivity, consistently meeting deadlines and writing our best work.” Our Section Editors have all been able to help foster growth and improvement within their individual teams this year, and I am personally grateful to have them as part of staff.
As the school and community transitions into 2021, I want to once again express my gratitude for all who have helped make The Buzz possible. The Buzz would not be possible without Mrs. Wells, every single member of our staff, and the community who reads our articles. The Buzz remains dedicated to providing quality information to North Augusta High School and the North Augusta community in this new year. As one of our New Year’s Resolutions, we’re hoping to create an Editorial Section of The Buzz, featuring writers who are already a part of our staff, and possibly even guest writers from the school and community. If you have any suggestions for article topics or comments about an existing article, please make sure to let us know on our website, or email me at CannonK@student.acpsd.net.
With well wishes,
Katie Beth Cannon
Editor in Chief
Keep up the great work