Students often depend on social media to stay informed about the activities offered at SCHS. While the use of various apps help many, they fail to reach everyone in the community. Sophomore Rishab Gupta said he noticed this problem and created an app where everyone can stay updated on the latest news.

Gupta began developing the app at the start of his freshman year in his Exploring Computer Science class. He was inspired by existing software programs for students, so he decided to design one of his own.

“At the time of creating the app, I wasn’t exposed to how to plan out a project like this, so I kind of just started doing it,” Gupta said. “Then I joined Leadership this year and talked to Ms. Brown, who is the Leadership advisor, and got it approved from her.”

Vice Principal of Activities, Communication and Facilities Erin Brown wanted to make sure the app served a purpose and could benefit everyone.

“The goal of Leadership is to give information and increase student involvement,” Brown said. “So it not only had to meet the needs of students, but if it’s an app, it needs to involve staff, parents, teachers and everybody in the community.”

According to Gupta, the app will be a more accessible and user-friendly version of the current School Loop website.

“The website can be hard to navigate, and it’s hard for students to find useful and important information on it,” Gupta said. “So the app would include some of the things on the website and other cool features.”

The home page will include an Instagram-style format where the most current information will be posted. Although the app is another form of communication, Gupta wanted to include unique features that would be helpful for students.

“One feature I added was a live schedule that is synchronized with the bell schedule and shows you in real time how much time you have left of lunch, class, passing periods and how much time until school starts,” Gupta said.

Gupta also wanted to use the app as a way to improve the student council election process. He noticed that with elections, it can be hard to get information on who the candidates are.

“Past elections seemed kind of messy and people felt like they didn’t really know who they were voting for,” Gupta said. “Besides the candidate speeches, you can’t truly tell who they are and what their intentions are in just a few minutes.”

To hopefully solve this problem, Gupta created a student council feature that will only be available during elections. It will include a photo of each candidate, along with a description.

“During elections, I hope it will be a better way for people to know exactly who they are voting for because students’ votes matter in making our school better,” Gupta said.

Gupta wants the app to be a central place to get information. Although every class has an Instagram account, he wants to make sure that even students without Instagram or other platforms have a chance to stay up-to-date.

“I hope that the app will provide an easier way of communication, and that everyone will be informed on everything that is happening, regardless of if they have social media,” Gupta said.

To ensure that the news on the app is accurate, Brown said they will start with less information and later add more once they are given feedback.

“What we want everyone to know is that it’s just a starting point,” Brown said. “So if clubs and student groups want to be able to add and provide information, we’ll start creating opportunities to do that.”

According to Brown, Gupta hopes to launch the app after Thanksgiving break. Brown said it will hopefully provide a new form of communication that people will actively use.

“Although we do the morning announcements, we get feedback that people can’t hear it,” Brown said. “We do the E-Newsletter, but it’s too wordy and people don’t read it, so we are trying to branch out and figure out what’s effective.”