By: Jessica Farquharson
The Saltcoats School Gazette, established in 1971, has now been going strong for 50 years. The Gazette was first introduced by Walter Farquharson (then a teacher at the school) to not only provide the students with valuable educational and writing experience, but also to raise money for the Grade 6 class to go on a camping trip.
“It was a way of connecting the school with the community and it provided a community service as well. We write because we have something to say. Perhaps we want to tell a story – describing something that actually happened or just to tell a story that we had created in our imaginations. We write to inform or to entertain. When we began to publish a weekly newspaper we needed to develop communication skills such as interviewing people to get facts or opinions. Editorials expressed ideas, stated opinions, often called for action. Feature stories attempted to tell what had happened – answering questions of ‘Who? Where? When ? Why?’ We looked at causes, reactions, responses. When students wrote for the public they gained an appreciation for accuracy, for contradictions, for ways to increase interest and excitement. A lot of work went into each publication. Every student had things to write about. Every student could contribute to the group project. Each had something to say!” says Walter.
“We also received classroom sets of the daily Regina Leader Post. Many lessons in many subjects and for many grades were gleaned from newspaper articles. This was a project sponsored by The Leader Post that included seminars for teachers who signed up as participants.”
In its first year of publication, students sold the Gazette door-to-door for the price of 2 cents per copy. To this day, students continue to deliver the Gazette to the community, making the school-community connection facilitated by the Gazette even stronger. The Gazette has become central to the identity of the school and of the community of Saltcoats throughout the years.
The Gazette is now edited by Saltcoats School teachers Candice Baron and Crystal Farquharson. They believe that continuing the tradition of the Gazette is important as a learning experience for the students and also as a way to keep a positive and active relationship between the school and community. “The Gazette brings the school and community together. It has been a great way for the community and school to share news. Also, it means our students write for an audience beyond just doing it for marks. This gives purpose to the writing,” says Crystal.
Although Walter Farquharson did not imagine that the Gazette would be continued this long, he knew when it started that it was something important. The students felt pride in their writing and younger students were always excited to be the class to take over the production of the Gazette. Walter believes that the longevity of the Gazette can be attributed to “its instinsic value in writing for a purpose. But I would also say the dedication of the teachers that continued devoting time and energy to the project, the volunteer typists in the early years of publication, enthusiastic and encouraging readers and students who were excited to write knowing they would have readers who looked forward to what they as young people had to say.”
Walter looks at his time in charge of the Gazette as one of his favourite teaching experiences.
Although the Gazette is still a major aspect of school-community life in Saltcoats, it has been facing challenges as the number of people subscribing to the Gazette and advertising in the Gazette is decreasing while the costs of producing the Gazette and going on the camping trip are increasing. If you wish to subscribe to the Gazette, you can visit the Saltcoats School website and fill out the order form. Your support is much appreciated by Mrs. Baron, Mrs Farquharson and the students of Saltcoats School!