Letter from the Editor: End of Year Report

What a year! Relaunching North Star, North’s Student News and Literary Magazine was no easy task. However, with the assistance of our administration, teachers, and of course our writers and editors, we were able to bring you 8 issues of original articles and artwork that reflected the creativity of the students at North. We have accomplished a lot in the short 7-month period since the magazine relaunched, so let’s review:

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Live Inauguration Coverage

With the controversial events surrounding politics this year, North Star made its goal to provide both unbiased stories to keep you in the know, while also featuring our writer’s own views regarding the circumstances of this year’s election cycle. On January 20th, the magazine was able to publish live updates on the Inauguration of President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. With the help of our Chief Editor, News Editor, Managing Editor, and Website Designer, we were able to post minute-by-minute updates of all the notable events that took place throughout the historic day.

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Adelphi University Press Day

On February 26th, 15 of our club members attended the Virtual 2021 LI High School Press Day hosted by Adelphi University. The magazine submitted work from six categories to be considered for a Quill Award. This was the first competition the magazine entered into since its relaunch. Lucy Wu, our website designer, placed 3rd for the best layout to represent us in the competition against other school newspapers across Long Island! We look forward to preparing for future contest entries in Volume 2, coming in Fall 2021.

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Mental Health Corner

North Star wanted to address significant issues affecting our students due to the events surrounding the pandemic: mental health. Back in late February, the magazine published an editorial addressing mental health concerns within the Valley Stream Central High School District. Proposing multiple solutions to rectify the contents discussed, we decided to launch a mental health corner on our website. From quick links from the Guidance Newsletter to curated tips and tricks from our own writers, we were able to create a comprehensive guide with the intention of helping the student body. You can find and click on our Mental Health Corner button in every issue.

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Social Justice Awareness

North Star expressed its solidarity with monthly features to celebrate awareness months. In February we featured articles and artworks in accordance with Black History Month. We coordinated with Valley Stream North’s Black Student Union (BSU) to publish additional articles with the intention of further educating our audience on the racial prejudice. In March, we continued with the course of celebrating awareness months by highlighting Women’s History. Once again featuring original artwork and articles, the magazine was able to publish over 10 pieces to highlight appreciate the strides made by women. Lastly, in this issue, we are featuring works that show our support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. Collaborating with North’s Gay-Straight Alliance (no known as The Alliance club), our front page is brimming with new content to display and promote inclusivity of all communities.

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We are thrilled to increase our readership in our next Volume by releasing new components to our magazine, such as renaming the Fiction and Creative section Polaris, the name of our former Literary Magazine here at North. We want to thank our senior editors and writers for the contributions they made and wish them well in their future endeavors. North Star is looking forward to welcoming new editors and writers across all grade levels. It has personally been a pleasure to work with this staff of editors and to watch the magazine grow. Keep an eye out for our release of Volume 2 coming early next Fall. Happy reading!

~ Craig Papajohn-Shaw

Managing Editor