Thanks to a grant, NighthawkNews.org now has the bells and whistles that staff members hope will help keep their site among the best in the state and perhaps lead to national recognition as well.

NighthawkNews.org is produced by the same students that also work on Nighthawk NewsMagazine, a 32-page print publication that is distributed throughout the community. Last year First Flight High School was one of only two schools in North Carolina to win the prestigious Tar Heel Award from the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association for its website, newsmagazine and yearbook. The newsmagazine and website were entered in national competition through the Columbia Scholastic Press Association as a hybrid news organization and earned 928 points out of a 1,000. One of the criticisms the site received was its lack of interactive components for readers.

“We have been wanting to update and modernize our website for a while now, so it was great to receive the grant and be able to make the changes without having to take money out of our own funds,” said Kira Hicks, editor-in-chief of NighthawkNews.org.

This project was made possible by the Dare Education Foundation (DEF). DEF partners with the community and raises money to provide for Dare County Schools. Applications for grants can be submitted by teachers, parents and students. These grants give unique learning opportunities for students and help encourage them to go above and beyond with their education, according to Executive Director Elisabeth Piff.

“We have an incredibly dedicated group of teachers in Dare County,” Piff said. “They really strive to make learning meaningful and make each moment preparation for the future of our students.”

Nighthawk News launched its new website through School Newspapers Online (SNO). SNO currently hosts more than 1,600 high school news sites by providing pre-designed platforms through WordPress publishing. For Nighthawk News, the change was a step up from its previous website that the staff created using GoDaddy.com as a host and a theme purchased through a WordPress vendor.

“The main reason for change was the level of support offered by School Newspapers Online,” journalism adviser Robin Sawyer said.

SNO provides newspaper staffs with training videos and help with any problems they may encounter. This type of technical assistance was not offered by GoDaddy.

Although the new site has been an adjustment, many staff members are grateful for the changes.

“It seems much easier to navigate and there are a lot more options when it comes to personalizing the site and making it our own,” Hicks said.

To personalize the site the staff has already added a photo gallery, an Instagram and Facebook widget, and advertising widgets. These add-ons will allow the staff to reach a larger audience and the advertising widget will be an additional selling point for businesses that want to to advertise on NighthawkNews.org.

One staff member who has been responsible for adding the new features to the site is junior Mack Mandl. Despite having very little experience with WordPress prior to the launch of the new site, Mandl has found it relatively easy to make changes.

“Nothing has been too challenging so far with the new website,” Mandl said. “Everything I need, I can just go to the support page and it’s there.”

Send comments to carterkr0206@daretolearn.org