Bryan Middle Schoolers Start Online Newspaper

has something in common with Elmhurst Patch these days: Students have started their own, online newspaper.

It is the first year the school newspaper has gone online, and it is the first middle school in the district to have an online newspaper presence.

The Bryan Bugle debuted Nov. 1, and the 13 students in the newspaper group have been publishing articles every week. They generate the ideas, take pictures, interview, write stories and poetry, draw up comics and generally produce great local content—just like what we do here at Patch—only on a hyper-hyperlocal scale for the Bryan community.

Seventh-grade teacher Andrew Fuller heads up the whole operation, meeting with the kids after school every week on Tuesdays. The rest of the week, they're out in the field, notepad in hand or in front of their computers putting it all together.

The Bryan Bugle also has maintained its original print component, so the kids are doing double duty, in a sense.

The Bugle is chock full of interesting elements. Stories in the inaugural publication include a piece on students auditioning for Blue Lake Arts Camp, by Kate DesBiens; a story on what the KIDS Leadership group is up to, by Neil Wary; a Q&A with seventh-grade English and social studies teacher Naomi Poltrock, by Sara Acosta; and a sports story on the undefeated girls basketball team, also by Sara.

Maria Carlson wrote a play review of "Sahara Nights," Kali Wilson contributed a poem, "The Midnight Owl," Anshul Shah compiled some Quotes of the Day and also gave his impression of the Bears vs. Vikings game.

And, you can count on the Interesting Facts section, by Kali Wilson and Neil Wary, to add a smile to your day. For example, did you know that bat hair was once used as money? Or, in Mexico, the Tooth Fairy is known as the Tooth Mouse?

Grace Fisher, Dylan Foley, Robert Logsdon, Kaylen Doyle, Anita Wary and Claire Kaliski round out the Bugle's writing and reporting team.

We're looking forward to what they'll come up with next. You never know—they could be future Patch editors in the making!