DEL NORTE — Two students with the Upper Rio Grande School District decided a few months ago that what their school needed was a school newspaper. Reyna Flores and Celestina Martinez went to their teachers with their idea and have since created a newspaper-magazine for the entire school to enjoy.

The two sixth-graders have gone above and beyond to learn the ins and outs of the making a newspaper, learning along the way how to design, gather stories and content and have even landed themselves in the advertising realms of the print world.

“They came to their teachers and asked if they could start a newspaper all on their own. We were so proud to see their desire to create something in their spare time for their own reasons. It just goes to show how great these students are and how much they want to learn,” said Upper Rio Grande School District Elementary Principal Amy Duda. “We are very proud of what they have created and hope they will continue on.”

In an effort to keep the two students motivated. The school district invited the Del Norte Prospector to the school to talk to the students about the fundamentals of writing for and creating a newspaper. Flores and Martinez both were very excited to learn from a reporter that has chosen to make their career out of what the two has started at their school.

When asked what prompted them to start the newspaper Flores stated, “I really enjoy writing stories. I think there is a story for just about anything and there is something about writing it down, making it last.”

Martinez, who has taken the more editorial approach for the paper stated, “Reyna came to me one day and asked what I thought about helping her start a newspaper. I thought it would be so fun, so we stated looking at how we could design it.”

Both students have used their free time, as much as there is in their busy schedules, to learn from several different teachers how to design the project, how to interview students, teachers and staff as well as how to come up with a final product.

The newspaper so far is a monthly edition that has different themes, with the last one being Valentines and friendship.

“We were going through the COVID stuff here at the school and I just thought we should do something to keep students informed and to add something fun,” said Flores.

Other content includes advertisements for events, sports and announcements from teachers and staff. Flores and Martinez hope to continue their project into next year when they are seventh-graders.