ELLSWORTH — In a year in which many things have been abnormal for everyone, three Ellsworth High School students have been able to find a sense of normalcy while creating something new for their school: their own student newspaper.

The idea came from EHS senior, Delaney Huff, who moved to Ellsworth at the start of the 2019-20 academic year.

“At my old school, we had a school newspaper that was a club and everything and I noticed that they didn't have it here,” said Huff. “Then this year about halfway through, there was talk about capstone projects. And I was like, maybe this would make a good capstone project, and maybe it could be a fun thing to do.”

In addition to Huff, two other EHS students have committed their time to writing and helping publish a copy of the paper each month since February. Senior Matthew Jenkins and sophomore RaeAnna Smith have been working alongside Huff since the new year to cover as many stories as they can to keep the school connected in these distancing times.

Prior to creating the newspaper, the trio, like many other students, had only been informed on sporting events, classes and extracurricular activities they personally didn’t take part in through the school’s morning announcements.

Now with the Panther Press, Huff, Jenkins and Smith have created a monthly publication that is connecting the EHS community in more ways than expected.

“It's something that the whole school can enjoy, and it's not just something that we enjoy doing, it’s something that you can see other people like reading,” said Smith. “Also interviewing people, you get to see people being a part of a story. And it's just kind of like it's good to feel like you're actually doing something important.”

“It's definitely like, a way for us all to connect considering how this year is going,” said Huff.

Before the Panther Press got off the ground running, Huff, Jenkins, and Smith approached EHS Principal Mark Stoesz with the idea. Stoesz said the idea of starting a student newspaper had been looked into, but it was this trio of students in particular who stepped forward on their own to make it happen.

“We immediately discussed the format they envisioned for the newspaper and I shared a template with them. We also discussed the process for getting the newspaper out to the student body. Delaney, Raeanna and Matthew were very organized and ready to go from the very start. They had surveys ready within days of the newspaper being approved,” said Stoesz.

Katie Traynor, an English teacher and staff advisor for the Panther Press, was also impressed with how this trio took the lead in creating the monthly paper.

“When the students first approached me about the monthly newspaper, there were already a number of other staff involved in supporting them,” said Traynor. “The students deserve all the credit for taking the initiative to get this paper going and to follow through each month.”

At Huff’s former high school, the student newspaper there often showed recognition to the art and music departments. Huff, along with Jenkins and Smith, wanted to give the same recognition to the EHS music and art departments in a year that has been most challenging for students and staff.

“I do all of the art interviews. So, it's really cool getting to share what they do besides just what everyone sees,” said Jenkins. “Beforehand, the art classes would just like display stuff in the case and kids would just like walk by and maybe there's a chance they look or not, but like with the newspaper, we actually get to show them and tell them what's happening behind the scenes and actually get to keep up with it and what's going on.”

The thing that Huff, Jenkins, and Smith are most proud of is making an impact at EHS that they hope will last a long time after they leave.

“I feel like, you know, I've actually kind of made an impact here at Ellsworth,” said Huff. “Because that's what my goal was from the start when I moved here, like, I want to leave something for people to remember me not just like, ‘Oh, she's the new girl.’” “Kind of like Delaney said earlier, it's really, really cool that there's a legacy being left here because her and I are both seniors. It's really cool to have something that we started we made from the bottom up and then to see where it goes from us,” said Jenkins.

“They do such a wonderful job of including such a large portion of our student body,” said Stoesz. “The surveys give everyone a voice and their articles cover a wide range of what is going on in our school.”

“I'm so proud of how positive the impact of this paper has been on the student body. Matthew, RaeAnna, and Delaney involve student surveys and student writing in each edition, and the student body feels involved and heard,” said Traynor. “It's a great way for students to showcase their talents and their unique perspectives. I'm so proud of the way the Panther Press students have handled each issue and brought it to life in such a positive way.”

After graduating this year, Jenkins plans to attend the University of Minnesota-Duluth to study theater and music, hoping to become a professor in those fields of study someday.

Huff plans to take a gap year from education and work after graduation. In a year, she hopes to study art therapy and become an art therapist.

Smith will be going into her junior year of high school next fall and plans to continue working on the student newspaper with hopes of getting more students interested.

As for Stoesz and Traynor, they hope to see more students get involved and expand upon the creative content in the Panther Press, from surveys, photography, news-based stories, opinion pieces, and even expanded circulation to the Ellsworth middle and elementary schools.

Photo courtesy of Ellsworth High School