Timberlake paper makes news

SPIRIT LAKE - This group of girls has a knack for news and creativity.

The American Scholastic Press Association awarded Tiger Tales, Timberlake High's student newspaper, a first-place honor with 915 points out of a possible 1,000 in its annual newspaper contest and review.

"The facets of newspaper work are varied and difficult to master," an ASPA judge wrote. "Your staff, however, has been able to overcome the difficulties and produce a publication of which your administration and colleagues should be proud."

Additionally, Tiger Tales was recognized for "Best Service to the Community" for its Thanksgiving food drive and was awarded a silver medalist certificate from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association earlier this year.

The ASPA contest reviewed 270 high school newspapers in six categories - content coverage; page design; general plan; art, advertising and illustrations; editing and creativity. Tiger Tales earned the full number of points possible for content coverage and creativity.

Timberlake has about 500 students, and the newspaper, which publishes eight papers per school year, has consistently won honors for both groups and individuals.

All nine members of the staff are girls.

"This group of students pursues excellence in all they do," said Katie Suenkel, Timberlake's journalism adviser and an English teacher. "They view themselves as professionals and the newspaper as an opportunity to inform, entertain and educate."

Suenkel said the staff has consistently conducted student surveys to uncover information about the student body.

"They are unafraid to contact authority figures to get the whole story," Suenkel said. "They work well together and strive to improve with each issue."

Editor Jourdan Neal said the staff has worked hard to make each page special and bring out each member's individuality.

"We're always talking with each other about how we want something to look," Neal said. "Last year we had an excellent staff and it's nice to know that we held up what was set before us."

Kimberly Westrick, assistant editor, said the staff paid attention to detail.

"Sometimes it was hard editing after a lot of hard work, but we also made sure there were no major errors," she said. "Last year I was the business manager and this year I can see how hard our editorial works. It takes a lot of time to make sure it looks as nice as it does."

Angie Bickmore, features editor, said the class is laid back but still manages to get the job done.

"It took a big group effort to put out the paper," she said. "I'm really proud of us. It's definitely a good day to get the paper out to the classes."

The American Society of Newspaper Editors/Quill and Scroll recently named 2009 Timberlake graduates Kaycie Miller and Kelsey VanDyke national winners in the 2010 ASNE/Quill and Scroll International Writing and Photo Contest.

Miller was one of 11 individuals to win in the "In-Depth, Individual" category for her package "Economic woes: Schools, families struggle in bad economic conditions", in which she highlighted the recession's effects on THS students, interviewed a variety of officials including Tom Luna, and provided poll numbers showing more Timberlake students were eligible for free or reduced lunch than were taking advantage of the program. She also detailed how students could enroll in the free or reduced lunch program.

VanDyke was one of 27 reporters to win in the "Features" category for her story, "Never giving up: Students overcome roadblocks to build lives, help school." The feature highlighted students in special needs classes working hard to improve their lives and their school.

Miller and VanDyke were designated Gold Key winners for their respective categories. The contest named 256 winners from a total of 2,585 entries in 12 divisions.