This year North Battleford Comprehensive High School has grown in students, and the talent within the student body keeps becoming more diverse.
The Comp Voice is a brand new student publication, giving students a unique source for school news, activities, entertainment, and all the hot topics in the hallway.
The idea of a school paper started with friends Atom Vayalinkal and Colton Hutchinson, who have always had an active interest in design and journalism respectively. At the beginning of the school year the foundations were set for a club, and within the first month of class The Voice felt like a working newsroom.
A dedicated team has come together with over 15 members working to raise printing costs, create a unique design format, actively attend Viking activities and have it all written down when the dust settles.
In the development of the first issue, each student found their own part in making The Voice come to life. Early club discussions contributed to the design of the publication, deciding on a full color magazine format. Content is received from writers with current features and regular columns, while casual contributors have provided The Voice editorial board with illustrations, jokes, pictures and opinion.
Creative director Colton Hutchinson is optimistic for the growth of The Voice content staff.
"One of our biggest challenges in releasing the first issue was convincing students that they could have an active place within the magazine," Colton says.
"We're at a ground level for content and willing to explore anyone's thoughts or ideas, and I think Vikings really respect that."
Content contribution is growing immensely as The Voice gets more popular due to the hard work of the club.
Fundraisers have had a busy task in making sure the magazine stays sustainable and easily accessible to students. The traditional funding for school clubs is enough to print one issue, while the rest of the year's costs are covered by the club. Advertising is a way for businesses to connect with the high school audience, while supporting The Voice. Buying ad space in the magazine as well as sponsoring fundraising activities like bake sales are becoming popular with small businesses within the community.
The Voice has had a large impact on the NBCHS student body and has received rave reviews from both students and staff. Rylan Brown, a student at NBCHS, connects with the magazine because it's student run.
"The content is relevant and entertaining and I like how the magazine is entirely student run and everyone is allowed a voice," Rylan says. "I'm definitely looking forward to the next issue."
The magazine is supervised, but not controlled, by NBCHS staff.
"I see the voice as a great way for students to share their ideas and communicate with each other. It's great that the magazine is entirely managed by the students." said Rob Wall, computer science teacher at NBCHS and staff advisor to The Voice.
Gearing up for the second issue, to be released Nov. 5, The Voice is focusing on having more reporters covering a larger area of the school, as well as increasing the printing run and distribution throughout the school.
The goal of The Voice is to have an overall impact on the way the student body communicates and highlight the talents and opinion of NBCHS. In terms of content, the next edition will be available online at compvoice.com and will have all of the favourite columns from the first issue, with features revolving around Halloween, food and insects.
The Voice office is consistently staying the busiest room in NBCHS. Every task seems brand new and creatively challenging for the team as they develop techniques to make the magazine better with every page. The hallways are ready for more, and The Voice plans to exceed every expectation.
