In case you haven’t noticed, the Free Press has a  new look. The front page is has a story on it , and there are new faces listed as editors and a slightly different overall feel to the paper. Why, you ask? This issue is a trial issue for the future newspaper staff. These are some of the changes our readership will be seeing next year. While we will be making plenty of other alterations during our trip to camp this summer, this is a glimpse into next year’s paper. I am very proud to be a part of the current staff and look forward to further changes in the coming year. The newspaper’s incredible seniors have truly made Room115 a great place to be and we have become a family (not the cute, picturesque “Leave it to Beaver” family; more like a really dysfunctional family.)

Ryan and I already knew some of the alterations we were going to make for the paper. I looked at other papers from around Kansas and from past issues of the Free Press for ideas and inspiration. That’s where the story on the front cover came from, and the quick reads page (page two, in case you didn’t notice).

For our 11th and final issue, the paper will return to this year’s format and the seniors will produce a final paper to leave their mark at Free State. I hope you take a look at this issue and like the changes we’ve made so far. This column and Ryan’s (my co-editor in chief) column will take the place of Bailey’s Backyard Barbecue by Bailey Schaumburg and One in a Thousand by Katherine Corliss.

My dream for next year is to produce an absolutely perfect paper that every single person in the entire school can’t wait to read. While I realize this probably won’t happen, we can always strive to create the best paper within our means.

This is the first time I have ever written a column, so, as they say, here goes nothing. While Ryan’s column will be about his new experiences every issue (as a lunch lady, a stairwell kid, etc.), my column will be my perspective, or slice of life, on different happenings at and around Free State.  I hope this column serves a purpose for the student body by providing an interesting perspective of what’s going on inside and outside the walls of our high school. The entire purpose of this paper is to get information out to the student and staff population. Next year I can hope and trust that we will succeed at our job.