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Student-run media isn’t anything new at Bellwood-Antis, but the BluePrint, relatively speaking, is. Before the BluePrint, B-A’s student news came from the Hylite, a student newspaper that made its debut in the 1950s. It was most recently under the advisement of Sue Kovensky, who also serves as the advisor for the Tuckahoe Yearbook.

In 2010, Kerry Naylor took over the Hylite, and the small staff of five senior girls decided to give the venerable newspaper a makeover, starting with the name.  The staff chose the name the BluePrint for several reasons. One was that we saw it as a way for the Class of 2011 to make its mark on the student body for years to come. A second reason was that we saw the newspaper as a kind of template for recording student activities across the school district. And since blue is the dominant color of Bellwood-Antis, the name BluePrint, originally submitted by Tabi (Taylor) Melhorn, seemed appropriate.

The staff also determined that, in print form, the BluePrint could not be a strictly news publication.  Our goal was to publish two issues per month, which meant that much of what we covered would not be news by the time we printed each edition. So the staff decided to develop the BluePrint as a feature story tabloid that highlighted the people and events of Bellwood-Antis.

That philosophy has changed with the launching of the BluePrint online. Our goal is now two-fold: not only will we continue to highlight the people and events of the Bellwood-Antis School District through feature writing, but we will also be on the cutting edge of late-breaking news that affects the entire B-A student body and community.

The BluePrint is now advised jointly by Kerry Naylor and Jamie Forshey.  Forshey was instrumental in researching suitable online formats and selecting the format now in use for our online publication.  She is also the technical coordinator for the publication, working with her Tech Club students to keep the site updated and operating smoothly. Naylor handles the BluePrint stories and features through his Journalism/BluePrint class.

Several students have played important roles in the evolution of Bellwood-Antis student-run media from the Hylite to its latest and most exciting incarnation. These include:

The BluePrint class of 2013-2014, which is the first to publish an online newspaper at the school: Tyler Talmadge, Sierra Yingling, Nick Torsell, Aaron Garland, Shalby Figard, Shania Miller, Kara Browder, Jessica Fogle, Autumn Harlach, Emilee Astore, Phoebe Potter and Myranda Mamat.

The five editors to lead the BluePrint include:

2010-2011 – Krissy Rhuele and Tabi (Taylor) Melhorn

2011-2012 – Jessia Focht

2012-2013 – Madi Steinbauer

2013-2014 – Tyler Talmadge