Husky News has been the primary source of headlines at Hollywood Elementary School for a full decade.
And while the headlines are robust, including a feature story about its 10-year anniversary in the latest issue, along with a profile of the Riverside School District 96 board of education, the enthusiasm of the 30-plus third-, fourth- and fifth-grade student journalists is just as strong. Keep in mind that 30 to 45 student participants each school year.
Now consider there are just over 100 students at Hollywood School, so roughly a third are members of Husky News, as reporters, photographers and layout personnel.
What do these students enjoy about being journalists?
“I like it because you can learn about more things than you could if you weren’t a journalist and you didn’t know much,” said fourth-grader Sammy. “It kind of relaxes me to write.”
But like any profession, including journalism, it’s not always easy.
What’s the hardest part about being a journalist?
“I think going over it and figuring out what I need to change and edit is the hardest part,” said another fourth-grader, Tyler. “I always look over it, and then I change my mind and so I go back and forth and back and forth.”
Spoken like a true wordsmith.
There is plenty for everyone in Husky News. In addition to hard news, there are features like a no-holds-barred Q&A with new Hollywood School principal Dr. Erin Dwyer in the December 2025 issue, where she is portrayed as “kind, fair, fun and organized.” Plus there are games, puzzles, comics, photography – essentially the full gamut of content that is published by other newspapers, including the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark.
That makes Dwyer plenty proud. It makes her even more proud when her students stepped into the limelight at a recent school board meeting and described what Husky News is and what they do. They even wore their press passes.
“I think they are adding to the culture and climate of our school,” Dwyer said. “They really dig into the happenings of our school behind the scenes, not only the academics but the extracurriculars.”
What was it like to be interviewed by student reporters Penelope and Meredith?
One word: Intense.
“I have to say it is awe-inspiring to watch the kids interview,” she said. “They bring questions and take notes. (They) read the answers and then clarify, ‘Okay, Dr. Dwyer, what did you mean by this?’”
Husky News was launched in 2016 by school paraprofessional Sharon Tomecek, who coordinated the first edition on her own. Christine Cooley joined soon after and the two have been astute executive editors, marshaling their journalists to create a solid news product.
“I had the idea of doing the school newspaper, since I had been working in journalism before,” Tomecek said, referencing her time as a student journalist in high school and college. “I used to always want to teach kids and do things with kids with journalism. I had worked previously at Central where my kids went to school, creating their yearbook, which had fifth graders interviewing people as part of it.
“Ten years ago, I decided to ask the principal, is this something we can do here?”
Cooley was on maternity leave back then, and when she returned, she was impressed with the first-ever issue.
“I remember in the hallway (saying) very casually, ‘If you need any help, let me know,’” she said to Tomecek. “I joined that and since I’m a reading specialist, I thought this would be a great opportunity to help kids write for an authentic audience.”
But it’s more than writing. Fourth grader Meredith works in layout, among other responsibilities, for Husky News. Once again … not an easy job. What’s her process?
“For me, I have a bunch of pictures and they are all scrambled on a page,” she said. “I have to shrink them, I have to make them bigger. I have to figure out which have the same kid in them and sometimes take some out. I have to put the wording in the correct spot where it will nicely fit.”
Then the pages are off to Tomecek and Cooley, she said, “and it will either be approved, or not.”
Again, very common in the journalism industry.
But bottom line? This is just as much fun for the student journalists as it is work.
“Sometimes we meet during lunch and it’s a time where I can talk to my friends and also draw a comic or write an article and I’m still talking to my friends,” said another fourth grader, Luca.
“It’s just doing something else that’s fun, too.”