OXFORD — The tagline reads “news, photo essays, interviews, art, and fun.”

Oxford Hills Middle School students in Jon Bolduc’s creative writing class can now classify themselves as up-and-coming journalists after launching a new school newspaper, The Viking Vibe. The third edition of the paper was released last month.

“It was an accumulation of a lot of different ideas,” Bolduc, a former journalist, told the Advertiser Democrat about the student newspaper his seventh-grade students launched earlier this school year. “The first quarter, we didn’t have the paper; I was teaching them the basics of journalism and media.”

It started as an intro to the field of news reporting, but Bolduc also wanted his student to gain the experience of participating in a relatable project. And so, his two classes collaborated to launch a student newspaper.

“We decided to try it out,” he said. “We were all kind of the guinea pigs.”

The Viking Vibe has created such a vibe at OHMS that a section has been designated for North Campus seventh graders to submit their own news and opinion.

The kids do not shy away from publishing opinion pieces and tough subjects. The May edition included a feature on unified basketball, an investigation of roof leaks, educator interviews, the history of Easter, a preview of the latest Nintendo Switch 2 console, and even an essay on the state of the education system.

During a visit to Bolduc’s classroom at OHMS’ South Campus the Advertiser Democrat turned the tables a bit on his students, interviewing them with off-the-cuff questions about being youth reporters.

Silas Palmer showed some journalistic grit when he volunteered to be the first to talk.

“I was trying to get my grades up,” he said candidly. “Mr. B. said it would help to work on some of the journalism stuff. And then it started to be our work for each period.”

Among Palmer’s articles was one about the mystery of why students cannot use the school’s lockers, and an opinion piece about the school’s drinks policy.

“As I interviewed some of the teachers, I was trying to figure out why there’s a rule in place where we can only drink water.”

Jayden Tilton is currently working on a story about what makes South Campus distinct from the larger North Campus in Paris. She and other students also collaborated on an article about building a new middle school, and one about next year’s new principal Samantha Armstrong.

“I think it’s nice, but it is hard sometimes to come up with questions,” Tilton said about learning journalism skills. “But it pays of in the end because you’ve got the research you’ve done to help you along, to write your story.”

London Field confirmed Tilton’s perspective when explaining how many people were interviewed for a story about electives classes at OHMS.

“On green and gold days we choose an elective,” Field said. “So that could be, like, home economics, advanced art. We interviewed different people, asking what their favorite electives are, which are the most popular – or aren’t.

“We spoke to our school secretary and interviewed a few students and teachers. It took a while, but it paid off.”

Several students were already writers before they became school reporters. Kya Brackett enjoys writing horror stories. Zoe Smith, who was not crazy about being interviewed but answered questions with the help of a friend, said she enjoys writing about her experiences: school field trips, gymnastics competitions and traveling.

“I like to write about anything I can think of,” added Sadie Francis. “When I think of something and have nothing else to do, I’ll write it. Fiction and nonfiction.”

The kids also got a chance to interview their interviewer about journalism. Smith wanted to know how long it takes to write a story for the Advertiser Democrat (answer: some are easy and some take longer, including some that will be boring no matter how hard the reporter tries to make it interesting).

Other students were curious about what makes a story popular, how stories get assigned, how reporters work together and what kind of travel is involved.

As far as developing skills to work in journalism, they were spot on with their answers about what is important to learn. Using creativity and having a sense for storytelling were some, along with paying attention to spelling. One student mentioned the ability to research and collect enough information for an interesting story, with another following to explain what those things mean.

“And being able to publish stories with opinions that other people might not like,” explained one perceptive reporter. “Be positive even if they disagree with you, and see the other side of it.”

“Being empathetic” is one of the most important things, added Calvin Merrill.

The following students are responsible for producing The Viking Vibe:

Kya Brackett, Jayda Chasse, Dantae Cheatham, Caleb Davis, London Field, Noah Fortier, Arabella Hodgkin, Karen Lederhouse, Ethan Mendoza, Silas Palmer, Tessa Pulkkinen, Jayden Tilton, Wesley Webster, Gabe Bellman, Aubrianna Bennett, Dianna Berry, Molly Campbell, Summer Clark, Summer Corriveau, Isabella Crocker, Damien Foss, Sadie Francis and Blake Kimball.

Bolduc expects this year’s reporter ranks to be able to continue publishing Viking Voices next year. “All signs point to us being having this program again next year.”

Sign up for our weekly community newsletter, Oxford Hills Now.