Breaking news
Though this job is most often done by our Social Media Coordinator, I’ve chipped in with breaking news posts from time to time. Timeliness is key – word of mouth travels fast enough in schools that if you don’t get something up, everyone is going to have heard already, and they’ll all have heard a different thing. Ensuring the accurate, but speedy, distribution of breaking news on social media helps set a baseline for what facts are known and gives students a reference point for the truth.
Royal Gladiators
Caption: Addisyn Huff and Taylor Sims, seniors, were announced as Homecoming Royalty at the halftime of Clarke Central High School’s Homecoming game against Flowery Branch High School on Sept. 29. Addisyn, who was escorted by her father, CCHS Principal Dr. Swade Huff, and Sims, escorted by senior Isabelle Duncan, beat out six other court members to secure their spot in CCHS Homecoming history. “I was shocked. I was excited, but at the same time, I was overwhelmed,” Addisyn said. “I think this was a great experience for me, I love repping Clarke Central and repping Clarke Central with pride.” Photos by Aza Khan, story by Wyatt Meyer
One of the few times the ODYSSEY has ever sent out a team to upload and create live breaking news, I went with then Photography Editor Aza Khan to shoot Homecoming court, posting it live. The post occurred less than 10 minutes after the announcement, allowing students not at the game to find out from us, while students there engaged with it because they saw faces they recognized. The timeliness made this post – though the photo and caption were decent, managing to get it all up quickly meant we truly informed our audience. The post is one of our most liked ever.
Williford announced as TOTY
Caption: Special education department teacher Brad Williford has been as a Clarke County School District Teacher of the Year Finalist. In an Oct. 11 press release, the district announced CCHS’ Williford as a finalist along with Clarke Middle School’s Garry E. Grant and Cleveland Road Elementary School’s Jakelyn Spencer. “We were very fortunate to have 24 exceptional candidates to consider for this year’s Teacher of the Year,” Dr. Robbie Hooker, CCSD Superintendent stated in the press release. “The evaluation committee had the difficult task of narrowing down those applications to these top three finalists, all of whom epitomize high-performing, student-centric teaching. We look forward to announcing the CCSD Teacher of the Year later this month.” Photos from the @odysseynewsmag archives, story by Wyatt Meyer
This post was created using our old Breaking News graphic, and such, was mostly plug-and-play. The photo was from our archives, giving readers a face to the name, but all of the reporting was done in the caption. Though it’s not my favorite to have all the info in the caption, it was standard at the time, so I tried to pack as much context and background into the second sentence before letting the quote from our Superintendent shine through as a voice of authority.
Graduation plan
Caption: The Clarke County School District has announced its plans for the graduation ceremonies of Clarke Central High School and Cedar Shoals High School. Originally tipped to take place in the University of Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum, further renovations to the arena mean the CCHS ceremony will instead take place on May 24 at 9 a.m. in Billy Henderson Stadium while CSHS’ will take place at the same time on May 23 in Waters-Wilkins Stadium. “Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central high schools are committed to memorable and safe ceremonies for students, parents, and the community,” the CCSD stated in a Sept. 26 press release. “The Clarke County School District looks forward to the opportunity to celebrate graduating seniors’ academic accomplishments in May along with their families.” Photos by Aza Khan and Ciyana Ramos, story by Wyatt Meyer
When the Clarke Central High School graduation dates were moved from the University of Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum to our football field, it was big news. On the front of the graphic, we used stock photos from the previous year’s graduation, which were especially strong. However, the one additional tweak we made was including several more photos from that graduation after. I know from looking at Meta Business Suite that students engage more with sliders, so we hoped more photos would encourage them to read a rather long, but informative caption.
Inaugural Rock Lobsters game postponed
Caption:The Athens’s Rock Lobsters first ever home game, scheduled for Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., was cancelled earlier today after a delay in safety approval for the team’s stadium, Akins Ford Arena. The cancellation has put future Rock Lobsters matches and promotional events in jeopardy. “The continued postponement raises concerns about Akins Ford Arena’s ability to fulfill its lease agreement with the Athens Rock Lobsters, placing a shadow of uncertainty over the remainder of the season,” the Athens Rock Lobsters stated in a Dec. 6 press release. Graphic and story by Wyatt Meyer
For the full story on tonight’s cancellation, read Editor-in-Chief Wyatt Meyer’s story on the ODYSSEY website or at the link bio.
We were one of the first media outlets to report on the cancellation of the Athens Rock Lobsters’ first ever home game. Because the cancellation was so close to puck drop, getting a post out on Instagram was important to inform our audience. With the new template in full effect, I was able to communicate the most important information on the slides, accompanied by Rock Lobsters brand graphics, to get the message across. That way, readers could look at the caption, but still fully understand the story if they didn’t.
CMS Principal resigns
Caption: Clarke Middle School Principal Dr. Amanda Gorham has resigned from her position, effective June 30. Gorham, a multi-year veteran at CMS, accepted the principal’s position at Tri-Cities High School, her alma mater. “I am going to miss the students, families, my staff (you are amazing) and my colleagues, but I look forward to leaving a lasting impact on the Tri-Cities Community,” Gorham wrote in a June 12 letter to the CMS community posted on her Facebook page. Photo by Aza Khan, story by Wyatt Meyer
With no replacement immediately named by the district, stay tuned to the ODYSSEY’s coverage of this developing situation.
This post took place over the summer, making it a very quick hit for me. However, it was certainly newsworthy, and because the CCSD sent out a press release, I was able to post a full graphic and caption to accompany the news. Absolute speed wasn’t so important here since few others were reporting the news, but we got the post out the same day the press release was shared. A photo of Gorham was added on the second slide to add visual context.