It’s been over a decade since the students of Friends Select last published an issue of their student-run newspaper, but if you’re reading this, I’m sure you know that The Falcon is back. Friends Select students will, once again, be publishing articles on events in and around the school as well as publishing original student artwork.

“It is one of the ways to allow students to have a voice,” says Head of School Michael Gary, who says he hopes the rebirth of The Falcon will encourage more writing among students at the school.

The Falcon was once a staple of Friends Select, being first published in 1952 and continuing for over 50 years until 2009. However, after a steep decline in the number of students willing to participate in the paper, The Falcon died off.

“In the mid-2000s, fewer and fewer people were reading newspapers” claims Jim, who also advised staff of The Falcon during the its last iteration. “Students were less interested in newspaper journalism and far less familiar with what journalistic writing looked like. Eventually, fewer students joined the newspaper staff every year, until we had a staff of two at the end.”

In an attempt save The Falcon in 2009, Jim began teaching a media class, which focused on video and podcasting as journalistic tools. Unfortunately, this did not reinvigorate the journalistic community at FSS.

In The Falcon’s current iteration, Jim has been joined by digital media teacher, Nick Nehez, who aims to promote the use of digital media such as video, podcasting, photojournalism, and of course this website itself. The class has already produced several photo-essays and several short films. This online platform provides a way for us to share these new forms of digital journalism. “Journalism matters, and doing journalism in a captivating, multimedia way is very important,” adds Jim.

According to the Friends Select Archives, this year’s reincarnation of The Falcon will officially constitute volume LVIII. Michael Gary has high hopes for the future of The Falcon, saying that he hopes the school will win a few awards for exceptional student journalism over the next five years.However, to get there, The Falcon will need your help. Members of the class of ‘20 should begin to consider signing up for the elective next year so the project can live another year.