THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 3, 1995 TAG: 9506030293
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Long : 131 lines
The first year it became eligible to enter, Manteo High School's newspaper swept top honors in a high school journalism contest sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, and Norfolk State University.
Beating 10 other Virginia and North Carolina papers, Manteo's monthly Sound to Sea won the Overall Excellence award in the Newspaper Writing & Graphics Contest '95. Individual staff members also acquired top awards for their articles.
This was the first year entries were accepted from portions of North Carolina and from Accomack, Isle of Wight, Northampton and Southampton counties in Virginia. Traditionally, the annual contest has been open exclusively to South Hampton Roads high schools.
Sound to Sea adviser Robin Sawyer said her students' awards were earned by dedication - not beginners' luck.
``My kids work very hard. And I am very proud of their accomplishments,'' Sawyer said Friday from her journalism classroom. ``As proud as you are of your work sometimes, there is this feeling that your work is not validated until you win a prize.
``Prizes somehow validate what you know in your heart.''
Miles Daniels, Sound to Sea features editor, won first place of 28 submissions, for a feature story about the punk movement. He said was surprised his paper was victorious, given the tough competition.
``I guess I thought there were some very good newspapers in Virginia,'' Daniels said. ``I thought they might be better than the ones in North Carolina.''
Manteo High School senior and newspaper sports editor Jared Thompson, who was awarded first place out of 30 articles in the sports category, said he was equally surprised with the recognition.
``I did 15 cartwheels after I found out,'' he said, laughing.
But staff members seemed more amazed by the way they were informed of their winnings than the fact they actually had won.
Jennifer Johnson, co-editor in chief of Sound to Sea, beat 24 students to win the best news story award. She found out about her accomplishment when a $100 savings bond appeared in her mailbox.
``It was just a plain savings bond. It didn't say anything about where it was from or who it was from,'' Johnson said. ``There was no letter or anything.''
When Thompson and Daniels received identical mysterious checks, they made the connection they had won awards - a connection confirmed Friday by a congratulatory call from Edith Fields of Norfolk State University.
Sound to Sea has seen a lot of changes in four years. Nine issues will be published by the end of this month - triple the number of issues during its first year. The paper's circulation of 2,000 is distributed free to students and mailed to parents and advertisers.
Not counting the paper's computer system, the paper is self-sufficient and depends on advertising for funds.
Amy Shaffer, co-editor in chief who won third place awards for editorial and news writing, said she is pleased with the paper's evolution.
``To see where we've come from - to get this good this fast - is something to be proud of,'' Shaffer said.
Shirley Carter, a contest judge and chair of mass communication and journalism at Norfolk State University, said she was impressed with the writing in Sound to Sea.
``One of the things that stood out was the quality of articles,'' Carter said. ``They were well-written and seemed to be above and beyond what appears in high school newspapers.
``The paper is an example of fine scholastic journalism.''
All entries had to be produced and published in school newspapers during the 1994-95 school year. First-place winners in all individual categories received a $100 savings bond from The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star. First, second and third-place winners in the overall category received cash awards of $500, $300 and $100 respectively. ILLUSTRATION: H.S. NEWSPAPER WRITING & GRAPHICS CONTEST '95
OVERALL WINNER
Sound to Sea, Manteo High School
Editors: Jennifer Johnson and Amy Shaffer
Adviser: Robin Sawyer
RUNNERS UP
The Branch, Western Branch High School
Editor: Bryan Johnston
Adviser: Virginia C. Clark
Falcon Press, Frank W. Cox High School
Editors: John Craven and Fran Jamison
GRAPHICS
First place: Porter Mason, Cox High School junior.
Second place: Robert Dinwiddie, Granby High School senior.
Third place: Jason Dean, Great Bridge High School sophomore.
SPORTS
First place: Jared Thompson, Manteo High School senior, for the
story, ``Recreation games open court to all.''
Second place: Marvita Bradley, Tallwood High School senior, for
``Katrina Hensley, the fighting basketball star.''
Third place: Bryan Johnston, Western Branch High School senior,
for ``Superbowl XXIX: Not much of a show put on by the 49ers and
Chargers.''
EDITORIALS
First place: John David Craven, Frank W. Cox Cox High School
senior, for ``Computer crunch: Solution will come at cost.''
Second place: Kimberly Renter, Frank W. Cox Cox High School
senior, for ``Returning to home base leaves Vo-Tech students in
maze.''
Third place: Amy Shaffer, Manteo High School senior, for
``Slow-pitch game leaves senior girls in the dust.''
FEATURES
First place: Miles Christian Daniels, Manteo High School senior,
for `` `Punk' marks trend: body piercing, hair dyeing and tattoos
reflect personal attitudes.''
Second place: Deena Marie Inez, Frank W. Cox High School senior,
for ``Sexual Harassment; Students, faculty share what they
believe.''
Third place: Tomica Hofler, Norview High School (classification
not known), for ``Drama teacher inspired by dead poets and
competition.''
NEWS
First place: Jennifer Johnson, Manteo High School senior, for
``Chaos erupts amid students' protests.''
Second place: Tara Stivers, Frank W. Cox High School senior, for
``recycling encourages students to 'clean up.' ''
Third place: Amy Shaffer, Manteo High School senior, for ``Dare
Co. to host Babe Ruth series.''
by CNB