Thirteen Octagon staff members attended the Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Anaheim on April 25-27. The convention, sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association and attended by 3,500 students, featured sessions held by newspaper advisers and journalists. There were also on-site critiques and write-off competitions.
The online Octagon was named a Pacemaker finalist, and the print edition won ninth in the Best of Show competition in the “Newspaper Tabloid 16 or Fewer Pages” category.
Nine Octagon staffers earned awards (Superior, Excellent or Honorable Mention).
Staffers also competed in the Quiz Bowl, which tested current events, press law, U.S. government, Associated Press style and journalistic terminology. Two Octagon teams reached the later rounds. Juniors Jackson Crawford, Larkin Barnard-Bahn and Héloïse Schep and sophomore Sarina Rye advanced to the semifinals. Senior Yanele Ledesma and juniors Anna Frankel, David Situ and Emma Boersma made it to the quarterfinals.
Here are the staffers’ awards:
Newswriting: Junior David Situ, Superior
Feature Writing: Junior Anna Frankel, Excellent
Sports Writing: Junior Jackson Crawford, Excellent
Review Writing: Junior Héloïse Schep, Honorable Mention
Commentary Writing: Sophomore Ming Zhu, Honorable Mention
Press Law and Ethics: Sophomore Sarina Rye, Excellent
Editorial Cartooning: Junior Emma Boersma, Honorable Mention
Graphic Design, Infographics: Junior Larkin Barnard-Bahn, Superior
Sports Action Photography: Senior Jacqueline Chao, Honorable Mention
—By Allison Zhang
