Dear Archer Community,

Hello! Welcome to the new school year. This is Syd Stone ‘16 and Sarah Wagner ‘16 here writing to introduce ourselves. We are the new Editors-In-Chief of the Oracle for the 2015-2016 year, and we can’t wait to get started!  

We wanted to let you know a bit more about us, as well as some of our goals for the Oracle. We’ll start by each writing a bit about ourselves and then we’ll share our plans for the year.

Hi, I’m Sarah, and I am so excited to be Co-Editor-In-Chief this year along with Syd. I have been involved with the Oracle since 10th grade, serving as the News and Features editor. I love the News and Features sections because I think they really showcase what our school is about. Whether it’s profiling a cool athlete, learning more about our head of school or just reading about a fun courtyard celebration, these sections tell the stories of our community.  When I first signed up for the journalism class in 10th grade, I didn’t really know what to expect.  I thought journalism was something I might enjoy, but that was about as much thought as I put into joining the class. As I dove deeper into it, however, I was able to discover things about myself that I never knew. I was able to interview and engage with interesting people and learn much more about my community. The summer after 10th grade I interned at the Santa Monica Mirror and The Brentwood News, which taught me a lot about interview skills and working in a journalism setting.  And while I enjoyed working at those papers, what I love the most is writing for the Oracle because I love Archer and I love being able to chronicle its history.

Hi, I’m Syd! I started writing for the Oracle in 10th grade and served as the Voices editor. I love this section because it is such a unique part of our paper, and it perfectly captures the spirit of Archer. The Voices section is home to opinions and new perspectives. It also houses the Whimsies section, a miscellaneous collection of pieces that showcases Archer’s playful spirit. I have fallen in love with journalism throughout the past three years. I believe a student newspaper is a vital component of a school community, and I’m so proud of what the Oracle has done for Archer. This past summer, I attended Northwestern University’s summer journalism institute for high school seniors, and it inspired me to take our paper to the next level this year. I learned about the world of journalism from amazing instructors, mentors and my peers. I can’t wait to take all that I have learned and apply it to the Oracle!

Now that you know a bit more about us, here’s what we plan to do as Editors this year.  First off, we want to give all of you a voice on a much greater scale. You may have seen the Oracle dip our toes into “Letters to the Editor” last year, but this year we plan to step up our game. This paper is a place for you to share your opinions.  

If you don’t know what a letter to the editor is, it is a letter in which you share some constructive thoughts about Archer.

If you don’t like a policy or want to see a difference in some aspect of the student body, this is your forum to voice your concerns. We care about and value your opinions. We think that if you share and voice your thoughts, you can grow one step closer to seeing those changes realized. We think that every community grows and benefits from its members stepping up and sharing what’s on their mind.

You can submit letters to the editor via email to [email protected]. For an example of what a letter to the editor looks like, click here.

Another thing we would like to do this year is try out new mediums for news. We especially intend to experiment with audio journalism. Stay tuned for our new podcast: “The Moment.”

Additionally, we’d like increased levels of engagement within the Archer community. We here at the Oracle are super proud of the work we do, and we think we wind up with a really great product.

We do our best to cover all news on campus, and we are often the first to get new information about changes or announcements going on at school.

As a result, we think it would be great if you go ahead and bookmark the Oracle and check it out from time to time as you scroll through your other favorite websites. We work hard on this site for you to enjoy, so we want you to use it!

Do you have a question for us about our coverage? Do you feel we have been neglecting your club? Please let us know. You can send personal questions to us at the Oracle email address above, we love your feedback and need your involvement to make this paper best it can be.

Thank you for reading, and we can’t wait for you to see everything we produce this year!

Sincerely,

Sarah and Syd

Co-Editors-In-Chief 2015-2016