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Students at Chief Umtuch Middle School were treated to some locally informative light reading this school year thanks to their new student newspaper, Chief Reads Quarterly.

Headed by specialist teacher (and first time publisher) Becky Swanson, two groups of students, one seventh and the other eighth, making up a 47-person news team, just completed their second print edition of the semester. 

Chief Reads Quarterly covers a broad array of news, ranging from the on-campus scene to world events; there is even hot takes from the paper’s editor-in-chief, eighth grader Zane Grevstad.

Swanson’s fifth and sixth grade journalists also put out a separate, special edition called Chief Reads Quarterly Jr. Swanson noted that although the lower grades put out a smaller, special edition, the focus for them is exposure to journalism and honing their writing skills. 

“It was interesting to see all the different writing styles,” said eighth grade Managing Editor Jacob Clement. “It was cool to see all the different ways people write.” 

And you won’t find any fake news in Chief Reads Quarterly. Swanson said along with honing their skills as readers and writers and discovering the importance of journalism, writing fact-based news is their number one goal.  

Swanson and Principal Beth Beattie shared the dream to start a journalism class and have both been equally pleased at how it has turned out. Swanson added the school is fortunate to have a principal who is willing to try new things. 

Teaching students at a young age the importance of being informed on current events is what Swanson hopes her blooming news teams take away from a semester in her class. But even for those who follow other career paths, she sees the class having lasting benefits. 



“Whether they go into journalism or not, it will make them a better educated reader and writer,” she said.  

Swanson feels that through the paper, the students can see the direct results of their hard work — something solid they can hold onto, that they contributed to in some manner. Giving students the knowledge sometimes isn’t enough, she said. To help them truly learn and enjoy their work, they should also be given ways to apply that knowledge and see a result from it. 

For a while, Swanson was afraid to step back and let the students “take the reins,” but she saw that with each added responsibility, they showed increased leadership. 

“I feel very proud of them,” she said.  

While both Grevstad and Clement said they’ve enjoyed the experience and were commended by Swanson for their hard work, leadership and overall knack for the job, they aren’t completely hooked on journalism quite yet. Grevstad still aspires to be a biomedical engineer and Clement a electrical engineer. 

Undoubtedly, this particular newspaper and news team is unique in many fashions — they’re all under 14 for example. But they do share one similarity to that of any major publication across the country: when asked what the hardest part of the job is, Clement and Grevstad didn’t hesitate before saying journalists not turning their work in on time is really annoying