Before the student publication was presently known as The Roar and accessible to anyone with a smartphone, it was available only as a hard copy newspaper with no name.
The school newspaper began in 1962, just two years after the school opened, but there is no information documented about who ran the journalism program until the seventies.
The newspaper cycled through many hands in the next few years. In 1967, a woman named Eleanor Gordon taught the course, then passed it to Colleen Whitaker who branded the newspaper as The Roar in 1968.
Following that, The Roar was then run by Barb Rode for the next two years. The information of 1971 is unclear; however, in 1972, Al Walke picked up the position as newspaper advisor. From 1973 to 1974, Jane Gruhl directed the class, but struggled with the funding, and eventually the paper ran completely out of money.
After years of unstable transitions, The Roar was picked up by a man named Jim Rex in 1975. Rex was a journalism minor with passion and fire. He mentored students and enjoyed his time running the newspaper until his retirement in 2007.
Nine years later, The Roar started up again with Betsy Verwys. She decided the bring the program back when she was approached by a student who was hoping Verwys would consider starting it again. When she decided to take her shot at it, Verwys began it as a club with an application requirement.
Over 100 applications were sent to the teacher, she then chose 30 permissible students. “I tried to get a mix of age/gender/background/skill. A good “representation” of the HS population,” Verwys said. She later created a website for the newspaper, so students could publish virtually.
Verwys left her position at the high school at the beginning of 2020. The program was then handed over to its current teacher and mentor, Matt Howe.
