Lake Orion High School has yet another award to be proud of. Students who create the school’s newspaper, The Archer, recently took home an Excellence Award from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.
Advisor Yvonne Claes, herself a newspaper reporter for 10 years, took over the class of 33 students in September. They received their award at a ceremony in Lansing April 23 for all schools entered in the competition. Claes said the Excellence Award is just below the coveted Spartan Award.
‘We haven’t won a Spartan since 2001, and we’ve only won two in school history,? she added..
The staff also received nine individual awards for page design, graphic elements, photography, and for the first time, writing.
‘We’re a monthly paper now, we used to come out every other week,? said Claes. ‘Hopefully that will change back next year. We lost some of our budget and it costs $1,000 an issue to produce.?
According to Claes, The Archer has always been known to be technically excellent, winning many design awards, but was not as focused on writing before. She hopes to change that.
‘I try more to focus them on their writing…there’s no prerequisite class to be here,? she said. ‘But newspaper writing is totally different from writing an English paper.?
Students in the newspaper class, who must be in 10th, 11th or 12th grade, are graded as they would be in a regular class, on story quality, meeting their deadlines and production contributions. Claes hopes to have a prerequisite class for the newspaper in the near future.
‘It’s really an effort-based class,’she said. ‘The Archer traditionally has been known for layout. We have extremely good graphics.?
The paper is printed by a publisher in Mt. Pleasant, but students do all the other work themselves.
‘The come up with the story ideas, write the stories, create the headlines, take the photos,? Claes said. ‘They’re a good group.?
In order to join the newspaper’s staff, which they can be a part of for up to three years, students fill out an application, submit two teacher recommendations, and go through an interview process with Claes. GPA and other activities they are involved in are also considered.
‘It’s usually focusing on their work ethic,? she said. ‘It’s a rigorous process to get in.
‘Maybe I’m biased, but I want good writing,? Claes said. ‘The kids get to pick their beats, and if nothing is going on there, they come up with something.?
This year, the students also have their own advertising department, and are going out in the community selling ads.
‘That’s new,? Claes said. ‘Because of our budget cut, we had a problem. We had to get out and get some money.?
Claes said only a handful in this year’s class are looking to pursue journalism as a career.
‘A lot of them look at it as something fun, something different from their average class,? she said.
Students winning individual awards this year include: Cody Hopper, second place for column writing; Katie Preczewski, second place for news page spread design; Andrew Gray, third place for news/feature photo; Allison Minton, honorable mention for entertainment page/spread design, and also honorable mention in information graphic.
Also winning awards: Peter Nichols, first place byline/opinion writing; and Veronica Topolewski, first place for editorial page design, and honorable mention in news writing. The Archer also received a merit award for the newspaper’s webpage design, created by junior Andy Slagh.
Nichols, a senior in his first year on the paper, and Minton, also a senior in her second year on the staff, said they would like to pursue journalism as a career. Topolewski, a sophomore in her first year on the paper, said she wanted to see if it was something she might like to do in the future.
Gray, a senior in his first year, is considering photography as a career, and Hopper is considering broadcasting.
‘Mine was the paper’s first writing award,? said Nichols.
Hopper believes the paper earned an Excellence Award this year because they are taking the writing more seriously.
‘We’re caring more about the content,? he said. ‘There’s also been a lot of staff changes.?
Minton said there is a wide variety of students in the class this year.
‘We work together well,? she added.