Editors’ note: new website header reflects IV Leader masthead change.

While most of you were running around this summer, enjoying the sun and working all hours, we (your new Editors-in-Chief, Aelsa Butler and Maddi Loiselle) have been planning for the school year ahead. We have big hopes for this publication, some attainable and some reserved only for dreams. After meeting on the newspaper staff last year, we both grew fond of the little corner of IVCC. Our dedication to the publication over the 2015-16 school year made the co-editorship fall into place.

One project that is in the works is a redesign of the IV Leader front page header. The process of designing the new masthead was cooperative, with both editors, our senior photographer, and a former IV Leader editor working on developing the concept. Two versions were selected and voted on by the whole staff. The masthead you will be seeing is the result of this process. It’s not ready yet, but it will be coming out soon.

Some of the projects are still underway. For example, the 80-year history of the IV Leader means that photographs, documents, letters to the editor and other related documents have been building up in large metal filing cabinets. This summer, Aelsa began digitizing the files. This is a long-haul process that will continue for some time; hopefully, the files will be digitized and organized for future editors by the end of the school year.

Throughout the summer, we both stayed busy getting ready for this issue. While we still don’t feel 100 percent prepared for this yet, we did everything we could to be so. We selected the staff over the summer using our online application form. The whole IV Leader office went through a transformation as we worked with facilities to reorganize the space to be more efficient for our needs.

We also talked about some new kinds of content we would like to try this year. For example, we plan on branching out into the community. There are a lot of important things that occur on campus, but there is also so much that happens in the community that cannot be ignored. The community is where we all come from, and as a newspaper, we want to honor that. Hopefully, a larger emphasis on design and art will play a role this year, as well. If you or anyone you know does graphic design or art, come up to B317 and talk to us!

Finally, we’d like to officially introduce ourselves. Maddi edited the Putnam County High School newspaper PAW PRINTS for three years and fell in love with the rush of news, craving more upon graduation. Maddi’s dog, Rae, and punk rock musicians are the light of her life. She’s also an officer with Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Kappa Delta.

Coming from a homeschool background, Aelsa didn’t have access to an official high school publication, but was always writing and did edit a literary journal that she created with her friends starting in eighth grade. She is also a Phi Theta Kappa officer, and plays three instruments.

We’re looking forward to this year! Have a great semester!