First you should talk to your English teacher, who can help you plan and co-ordinate everything. Then talk to other students to see if anyone's interested.

Putting together a publication requires an army of people who can write stories, take photos, draw cartoons and design the newspaper. And if you're going to include advertisements from local businesses, you'll need someone to sell them. Anyone who wants to work for the newspaper has to be committed because there will be meetings to attend and deadlines to meet.

Getting started

Once you've rounded up a few enthusiasts, you'll need to set up a newsroom where they can work. This could be a classroom or part of the IT room. The newsroom should have computers with internet access and desks for people to work away from the terminals. It should also have a phone, photocopier, printer/scanner, filing cabinet, bulletin board, and various equipment such as tape recorders for the reporters to interview people, a digital camera and colour scanner for dropping photos into the pages, and some publishing software to lay out the newspaper. Speak to your IT teacher to find out what you need.

Style

The next step is to think about what sort of newspaper you want. How often will you publish and in what format? This decision should be determined by the number of people available to help and their existing commitments.

Most weekly newspapers comprise four to eight pages and require reporters to write at least one article a week. A monthly newspaper can be bigger (eight to 32 pages) because there's more time to produce it. The standard tabloid newspaper is 25 by 40 centimetres and has three columns, but you can print yours on A4- or A3-size paper because it's cheaper and easier to find.

You can also put your newspaper online so that it can be updated daily.

The more you want to include in your newspaper, the more reporters you'll need to write articles, so be realistic.

Once you have an idea of what the newspaper will look like, give it a name that reflects what it's about - something that's short, snappy and easy for readers to remember. If you have trouble thinking of a name, search the internet for newspapers to get some ideas. You might also want to design a logo (a special symbol that identifies the paper) to go with the name.

Working for the school newspaper

is an opportunity to express your ideas and opinions. You can also learn about the different tasks involved and work out which one you might be interested in. Who knows, it could lead to a career.

Check it out

Look up these books to help you get started:

Own Newspaper by Nancy Bentley

Deadline: From News to Newspaper by Gail Gibbons

The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper by Loreen Leedy