By Bonnie Shao, Editor-in-Chief |

To Winsor students, The Banner is many things: a chance to appreciate the writing of one’s classmates, an excuse to seek out teachers for interviews, or perhaps just a means of passing time between classes. As ILE season rolls around, however, it has become apparent that The Banner also equips students with skills to thrive in ventures outside Winsor. 

Every May, seniors participate in the Independent Learning Experience (ILE), in which they embark on a self-selected project under the guidance of a mentor. This year, several Banner seniors used their ILEs to take their journalism skills to the next level. 

Leela Uppaluri ’26, 2025-26 Editor-in-Chief, wrote a picture book on the experience of children with autism. She explained that the book is “about the walks that I take with my brother every day.” Throughout these walks, “he would always be observing the environment and…I would always want to rush.” However, “eventually, I began to appreciate that part of him.” Uppaluri hopes to “[expose kids] to characters with autism early on” and enable them to receive “more acceptance from their peers.” 

Uppaluri also cited her experience writing for The Banner as a key foundation for her work. Seeking to capture the nuances of her brother’s experience, she utilized her journalism skills to interview a variety of people. She shared, “I’ve been able to talk to his classmates, him, and parents of other autistic children, and I’m not as scared to do that because I’ve had the experience interviewing people for The Banner.”

Louisa Furman ’26, 2025-26 Executive Editor, brought her journalism to a slightly different setting: the classroom. As a teacher’s assistant at Baldwin Elementary School, she helped students create a newspaper of their own. She shared her inspiration for this project: “I was patrolling the classroom during one of the free periods, and I saw [the kids] working together on blank sheets of paper. They were making newspapers! I have loved my time at The Banner…So I wanted to bring a mini version of that to their classroom.” She added, “I think people really like being able to see their own work put together in one final piece, and I’m excited to give that to all of the kids.”While The Banner functions as a school newspaper, the skills that its writers acquire extend far beyond student journalism. The Banner wishes Uppaluri and Furman all the best in their projects, and we cannot wait to see how next year’s seniors might apply their Banner experience to their ILEs!