The schools of the Pacific are being encouraged to share more about the great work that is being performed in classrooms, on school fields, and in the greater community. To help with this we have created various templates to make the collection of PCS stories easier.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF COLLECTING AND SHARING OUR STORIES?
We share our stories to:
- Celebrate our successes
- Provide a balanced accounting of the work of the Church schools
- Increase public awareness of the Church schools and their core objectives
- Protect the credibility of our schools and the good name of the Church
- Boost peer-to-peer sharing and learning opportunities within our Professional Learning Communities
- Increase our engagement with students, parents, and the wider community
Telling our stories also teaches us to listen to our students and colleagues better. If we are actively looking for stories to tell, we are likely to become better listeners and observers.
HOW DO WE SUBMIT OUR STORIES?
Stories should be submitted using the Success Story template provided by the Pacific Area Office. This template has been created in PowerPoint to make it as simple as possible for any staff member or student to submit a story. The Success Story template can be downloaded here:
View/Download Success Story Template
News and stories collected using the Success Story template should be sent directly to the PCS Communications Manager via email. This portfolio is currently managed by Jeremy Higgins.
WHAT IS THE EXPECTATION OF STAFF AND FACULTY?
Schools are expected to submit at least one success story per term. In other words, each school should submit at least four success stories per year. Storytelling in schools is to be led by the school principal, assisted by one or more School Communications Specialists.
All PCS staff and faculty have access to the Success Story template, and all faculty members are invited to send stories and images as they feel inspired to do so. Faculty should never feel pressure to submit stories or write full stories themselves if they do not feel confident to do so. The Area Office will be able to assist all schools with sourcing, writing, and publishing stories.
WHERE WILL OUR STORIES BE PUBLISHED?
As new stories are recorded and sent to the Area Office, they will be reviewed and processed by various employees and volunteers. Some of the stories will be kept for historical purposes. Other stories will be reviewed and edited for publication on Church websites, social media channels, school publications, school newsletters, and other media channels.
The original author or contributor will always be kept in the loop with the progress of any story that is submitted.
HOW DO WE PREPARE OUR STORIES FOR SUBMISSION?
The text, images, and other resources associated with a story are known as “assets”. Please consider the following when preparing and sending story “assets” to the Area Office.
1. Text Assets
In the publishing world, the text for an article is referred to as copy. Simply filling out the Success Story template will help you generate a good foundation for the copy of your article.
Please do not hesitate to send us ideas for stories even if you are not confident with your writing. The Area can assist with writing and finalizing your text and ideas as needed.
2. Image Assets
Please submit images in their original format. Please avoid sending images that have already been edited or resized. We would prefer to receive the images in their original format as taken by a phone or digital camera.
Please get the images off the phone or camera and insert them into the Success Story template on the appropriate page(s). You can duplicate the Photos page in the template as many times as needed if you would like to add more photos. Always remember to add an image description and the name of the photographer in the appropriate fields.
Note: Please avoid sending images pasted into Word documents or PDFs as these are difficult to work with when editing and publishing. If you have more than 10 images to send please contact the PCS Communications Manager directly to ask how to send a large group of images.
3. Other Assets
Faculty may also want to send additional supporting resources such as reports, graphics, or other creative assets relating to the story. These additional assets can be sent via email to the PCS Communications Manager together with the Success Story template.
WHERE CAN WE RECEIVE MORE TRAINING ABOUT THIS PROCESS?
In October 2022 all Principals and School Communications Specialists were trained on the purpose, accountability, scope, and system for submitting news and stories. Participants were also trained on copyright law, image consent, and best practices for gathering stories and collecting consent. The training was held over two 90-minute sessions via Zoom.
Recordings and copies of the training slides, templates, and Zoom sessions can be found here:
View/Download Training Resources