Welcome

Newsletters, leaflets and multi-topic updates often look sharper when the body text runs in columns, like a newspaper, while the title stretches full width across the top. Today you will learn when columns help, when they get in the way, and how to build a clean one-page newsletter for your Something Real project.

Warm-up

Think of the last leaflet, club notice or social update you actually read. Was the title full width across the top, or squeezed into a narrow strip? For a one-page project update that a supervisor, customer or club secretary might skim in thirty seconds, would a single strip of text or a newspaper-style split make the job easier?

Say it out loud: in one short phrase, name your Something Real project when asked (for example, "market stall charms", "Work Experience café rota", "GAA under-14 fundraiser"). You will use that project in the Portfolio Build.

No project yet? Use a school bake sale, a Work Experience placement update, or a local club training notice for today. You can swap in your real project later.

Columns change how a reader’s eye moves down the page. Use them when you have several short sections to scan; skip them when the reader needs one continuous story or a formal single-block layout.

Worked example snapshot

First you will build a practice file called {{code:sm1_columns_practice}} for a fictional student enterprise, Coastal Crafts (handmade phone charms sold at local markets). That practice file is only for learning the clicks.

Later, in Independent Practice, you will make your real portfolio newsletter about your Something Real project as {{code:sm1_doc2_newsletter_v1}}.

The finished Coastal Crafts sample looks like this:

• Full-width title: Coastal Crafts Weekly
• Subtitle line: Week of 12 May · Galway market update
• Two-column body with three short sections: What’s new this week · How to order · Next dates and pitch note

Build a one-page sample newsletter for Coastal Crafts: full-width heading, two-column body, three short sections, and a clean split between sections. Your teacher will demonstrate the key clicks on the classroom screen first; then follow the written steps for your own suite.

Which suite are you using?

• Microsoft 365 (Word): follow the Microsoft 365 instructions (browser path first; desktop Word is an upgrade if you have it).
• Google Docs: follow the Google Workspace instructions (section break under the subtitle, then columns).

Save path (everyone): {{code:Project_Portfolio}} folder, then {{code:09_specialism}}, then {{code:sm1}}. Practice filename: {{code:sm1_columns_practice}}.

Paste-ready body text (copy this after you type the title and subtitle, so you spend time on Columns rather than typing):

What's new this week
New seaweed-green charm packs are in. Three local cafés asked about gift bundles for the bank-holiday weekend.

How to order
Message the stall page before Friday. Collection at the Saturday market or school pickup on Monday lunch.

Next dates and pitch note
Saturday market 10–2. Aim: 40 packs. Need two volunteers for the table and one clear price card in euro.

If the title drops into the left column, don’t panic — that is the most common slip. Undo, select the body only (or fix the section break in Docs), and try two columns again. The Common Issues step next will match the fix if you still need it.

What “done” looks like in the browser only: title and subtitle full width; body in two columns; sections roughly balanced by length. A true column break is a bonus if desktop Word is available — you still finish the practice file without it.

Common Issues