Student Communications Evolve and Expand

CURIOUS GEORGE editorial team members

George School students have been writing to and about their community while having fun and gaining valuable skills for well over a century. The media and messaging may have changed, but the drive to share issues and inspirations remains…and remains vibrant.

It all started with George School Ides, which debuted in 1900 after alumni repeatedly asked for a way to keep in touch with their school. This first “newspaper” (actually more of a pamphlet) gave way to the George School News in 1922 and to Curious George more than six decades later. Along the way, these publications were joined by Opus (yearbook), Argo (art/lit mag), and, most recently, George School Podcasts and MATES (STEAM newsletter). Together they continue the legacy of students communicating about their lived experience in ways appropriate to their generation.

Curious George

“Curious George should be everywhere,” says English teacher and faculty advisor Kyle Abbott. “It shouldn’t be once a semester. It shouldn’t just sit in the lunchroom. It should present itself in a medium that is relevant to its audience.” And it does. Prompted by a mix of environmental and cost consciousness, timeliness, student interest and skills, and COVID-19, it has transitioned from an infrequent, glossy magazine to a recycled newsprint paper to an exclusively online forum enjoyed by all. (Join at curiousgeorgeschool.org.)

More than forty editorial board and staff members source, write, and edit stories; hold social media conversations; and post photographs and videos. The move online has removed a layout bottleneck and given students freedom and flexibility. According to Kyle, “The stories are more timely and relevant to our school life. The staff see themselves as providing a service and an outlet for students to ask questions without the

OPUS editorial team members

traditional imbalances of questioning authority. They do amazing stuff. When we have a pitch table, every single story is something relevant. They are doing more professional journalism than I did as a journalism student in college.”

While today’s students look forward, they also look back. They “have a very keen sense that while they are innovating, they don’t want to lose sight of how far they’ve come,” describes Kyle. In monthly trips to newspaper archives to examine school history as told by students (sometimes staffers’ own relatives), they are amused to find similar conversations in the paper fifty years apart. A yearlong centennial celebration for the George School News is planned for 2022–2023.

Looking to the future, students plan to create a media policy to define the “boundaries and guardrails,” explains Kyle. “George School is unique in giving so much voice to its student writers.” As Editor-in-Chief Arshi Nagra ’22 sees it, “This is only the Curious George’s first year online so I look forward to seeing how we continue to embrace the possibility our being a website holds… and truly serve the purpose of informing George School students on news pertinent to the community.”

Opus

Because of its “forever” nature—a keepsake graduates take with them—the yearbook has remained a 200-page hard-copy volume, but its digital production is far more sophisticated than the collages assembled when faculty sponsor Cori Seraydarian ’91 was on staff. COVID-19 created an obvious disruption. After all, how do you chronicle life on campus and remain committed to including everyone when not everyone is on campus? But the staff adapted, working from home and crowd-sourcing photography to maintain inclusivity. In 2020–2021, the staff returned to a more normal process, and Jostens, the leading producer of yearbooks, recognized their magnum Opus with a National Yearbook Program of Excellence award at the Silver Level.

According to Cori, Jostens particularly cited the book’s cover, which shows a silhouetted person communicating via tin can and string. The yearbook is “part of students expressing their voice. Students here are impressive, and I am constantly impressed with how they express themselves, celebrate the community, and highlight its accomplishments.”

ARGO editorial team members

Argo

The semiannual art and literary magazine contains poetry, prose, and artwork submitted and selected by students. Its staff hovers at twentythree, but there are many more contributors. Like other publications, the journal continued through COVID-19, and since returning, has expanded its scope with visiting writer’s workshops and a visit to an independent publisher in Brooklyn NY that focuses on poetry and translations. Teacher and sponsor Zahra Patterson hopes it will be the first of many field trips.

“Argo is still going strong,” writes Editor Rhianna Searle ’23. “We’re proud to be the oldest club on campus, and we try to retain traditions like meeting in the Bancroft Reading Room and publishing physical print copies of the book. It’s cool to see how using writing and art as an outlet is universal across time….but it’s very exciting to be able to expand, creating a space for students to create writing in a fun and relaxed environment.”

George School Podcasts

A newer arrival, this podcast series was started by a group of students three years ago, with technical help from film production teacher and sponsor Scott Seraydarian ’90. Members try to broadcast regularly, though that, like content, has evolved, as those involved have gotten busy, graduated, and moved on.

The podcast club is a vehicle for students to express their opinions and questions. To co-leader Aarav Hathiramani ’22, “it represents the outlet where I know people can hear me, where my thoughts and opinions will be listened to by others in a new light. It has served as an avenue for me to explore new ideas within the community…Recorded conversations have this unique texture to them, where somehow everyone gets immediately wiser, yet funnier.”

The public nature is key. Students “are comfortable with the fact that it’s shared,” says Scott, “and it’s more formalized, which they like. They appreciate it as both creators and audience.” And they take their responsibilities seriously. In deciding what to cover and how to cover it (recent podcasts have been themed: campus life, sports, social media, and two end-of-year “best of” episodes based on a community-wide poll), the group has “discussions that are fascinating,” says Scott. “It’s a forum for multiple voices, in which harmony, or at least neutrality, is maintained.”

MATES

Sporting a STEAM-shuffled acronym with a Friends spin, MATES is “George School’s official publication for math, art, technology, engineering, and science.” Like podcasts, it arose out of student interest and quickly captured the community’s attention and imagination. Begun in spring 2021, it has already produced nine editions courtesy of twenty-five contributors (and counting).

MATES editorial team members

Though math teacher Kevin Moon refers to it proudly as “the only peer-reviewed high school math journal (that we are aware of) anywhere,” the newsletter/blog covers much more than math. Recent issue themes have ranged from E=mc2 to Lego, with articles on data warehousing, how COVID-19 replicates, anti-torque helicopter systems, and the physics behind rock skipping. In addition, it regularly celebrates fun scientific events (Alan Turing’s birthday or Astronomy Week), reports on the varsity math team’s success, and, through the MATES Alliance, links eight campus clubs and organizations to “build a minicommunity and spread positive energy within the campus,” per co-founder and Co-Executive Editor Forest Ho-Chen ’22. “MATES wants to give voices to the voiceless,” he continues, “and we would love for MATES to be the platform where both science and art can thrive.”

And so, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today’s George School students find their own ways to inform and enlighten while they question, discuss, and advocate for what is important to them. From the intense effort involved in creating these communications, they learn lessons in time management, media literacy, teamwork, and responsibility. As Opus staffer Katie Rose Hendry ’22, puts it, “Being one of the senior editors has allowed me to work creatively and collaboratively with a great group of people. I’ve learned a lot about problem-solving… and it has shown me that asking for help and using my resources isn’t a bad thing.” Generations of alumni would agree.

As for where publications are going, current students hope that collaboration will bring benefits to all. “There may be some areas that are not covered by the current publications, such as music videos, which should be jointly covered,” says Forest, “and those could lead to a rise of additional publications or a growth of the existing ones.” Since no one medium reaches everyone, “it is in these small spheres of influence where George School is special,” reflects Aarav. “Not everyone reads the Student Council public minutes or contributes to Argo, but those who do have a special bond with their respective communities. These small connections through media build up, allowing us to have a unique school environment where it is really possible to get to know anyone.” Curious George editor Max Forstein ’23 concurs, seeing the future of student publications as “something we can say about our community that strengthens it.”

Editor’s note: The Georgian, the current magazine for alumni and the wider George School community, was first published in 1930 as a newsletter booklet.