Flagstaff High School

The Talon Update

Ramon Fernandez IV

            The Talon has had seven publications, 100+ articles, and 10,000+ site visits for everything that has been published so far. All of this has been accomplished with only one semester under our belts. The main page of The Talon alone has garnered 4,800+ visits, making it the 8^th most popular FHS affiliated website in its domain. The best part of seeing this success is the realization that this is only the beginning; there are so many ways we as a newspaper can grow and evolve this.

            Before I write about the vision of where I want to see the publication going, I first want to recognize a couple of student’s new roles and success as we eventually try to move this to a purely student led newspaper:

            Lillee Martin is the first Senior Editor of this rendition of The Talon. Through her articles such as: “The Great Impact of Artificial Intelligence” and “The Three Sisters Mural,” her talent for writing was readily apparent. In addition to her writing with The Talon, she also contributes to a soon to be published literary magazine called The Château. Lillee has been a very successful student during her time at FHS with multiple AP and DE classes under her belt. More importantly, Lillee is also an excellent human being, with kindness and a willingness to make the people around her better. She will be missed as she graduates this May and moves on to bigger and better things.

            Haven Carey will serve as our first Junior Editor for the remainder of the semester. This is the second year that I have been fortunate enough to be Haven’s teacher. Haven is a brilliant writer, diligent worker, and a friend to everyone around her. Other teachers agree: her merit as a student is often second to none. Haven is also a musician who has performed in Battle of the Bands with her band covering the classic Stevie Nicks song “Dreams.”

            As we continue to develop this paper with good writing, editing, and designing this paper, we will start to enabling students to have more important roles with this paper. We would love to start selling ad space to local businesses to generate income to buy more equipment such as cameras and laptops. Another goal is to attend the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Conventions to further improve our practice and skills. If you want to help us achieve our goals in the upcoming school years, please feel free to sign up for Journalism on your pick sheet to take a fun elective while also making your writing skills better!