SHS English and Journalism Teacher Justin Turner and his yearbook class attended the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association Conference April 18-19 in Hot Springs. At the conference, SHS competed against the top 54 schools throughout Arkansas and came out with an impressive total of 16 awards and an overall superior rating.
"It's the first time we've attended in at least seven years," said Turner. "To show up from nowhere and dominate a large portion of convention is huge!"
Among the 16 awards earned at the conference were:
1st Place Academic Writing: Taylor Cannon.
1st Place People Writing: Brittney Staley
1st Place Student Life Writing: Gabrielle Willingham
All ASPA Academic Layout and Design: Madison Ratthasombath, Brittney Staley, and Alyssa VanSickle.
"I don't think there's a word to describe how amazing it feels to watch the people you've worked with all year get recognized for how hard they work," said Brittney Staley. "We've put so much time and effort into our yearbook, and it's great to know that others can see that."
Turner also is happy to see his students get recognized for all their hard work and success. "Yearbook is a class where students don't get to see the results of their work until the very end of the year, so any time they get to shine is a great day."
Front Row: (l-r) Sury Lopez. Keagan Smith, and Raegan Cannon
2nd Row: (l-r) Alyssa VanSickle, Brittney Staley, and Madison Ratthasombath
Back Row: (l-r) Taylor Cannon, Gabrielle Willingham, Bailee Hutcheson, and Andrea Lambert