School newspaper wins 19 awards

Both the Green Horn — the monthly newspaper produced by the students at Springfield High School — and the weekly television broadcast Green Horn Live, took home a mountain of awards from the Scholastic Press Forum earlier this month.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100327/NEWS02/3270354/1003/NEWS02               
# # # # School newspaper wins 19 awards  •  Front to back, Melissa Tarbell, Sam Hensel-Hunter, Laurel Porter, Jenny Bradley and Ashley Richardson work on the next edition of the Green Horn.  •  PHOTO PROVIDED  •  Rutland Herald  •  By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: March 27, 2010  •  SPRINGFIELD — If print media is dying, it's not discouraging news to the staff of the Green Horn.  •  Both the Green Horn — the monthly newspaper produced by the students at Springfield High School — and the weekly television broadcast Green Horn Live, took home a mountain of awards from the Scholastic Press Forum earlier this month.  •  "This is just an incredible honor for these kids," said English teacher Michael Janiszyn, who has guided the Green Horn since 1980. "What really defines these students is motivation. They work before school, after school, weekends, whatever it takes to put out a good product."  •  The print and television versions of the Green Horn took home 19 awards — including Best Small Newspaper and Best News Program — and 16 awards recognizing specific stories.  •  One of those winners is Victoria Kopidakis, 16, who was honored for her first-person essay, "3-Minute Passing Time: An Alternative to P.E.?"  •  "I have a lot of friends who find the three minutes between bells isn't enough time to go to their locker or get a drink or go the bathroom, and I compared it to P.E., saying everybody's getting plenty of exercise just running between classes," Kopidakis said.  •  Last year, Kopidakis took "Intro to Journalism," one of three journalism classes offered by the school, with the other two classes for newspaper and television broadcast.  •  Janiszyn said the school expanded its journalism program five or six years ago and roughly 40 students in three classes make the program the largest it's ever been.  •  Ashley Richardson, 18, who is the Green Horn co-editor, took home awards for her sports coverage and a piece on the death of J.D. Salinger.  •  When she graduates this spring, she will leave the news world behind, while recognizing the impact it's had on her personal development.  •  "I really enjoy writing and I really enjoy journalism, but I'm going to be a chemistry major so I can be a pharmacist," said Richardson, who has a full scholarship to attend the University of Vermont.  •  "The journalism and the broadcast journalism classes have taught me responsibility and communication and organization, and these are traits I'm going to need in the future no matter what my major."  •  While word of the decline of print media has certainly reached these students, it's in no way discouraged them.  •  "I'd like to think (news) is going to continue in some form, because I think it's really important," said Jill Rushton, 15, who was honored for her sports writing.  •  With an eye on the future, the school is looking to introduce a digital media class in the future, Janiszyn said. And whatever way the news is conveyed in the future, students at Springfield High School — such as sophomore Erika Anderson, who received an award for her first-person essay about her trip to Cuba — will be ready.  •  "I think it's a really noble profession, because it's getting out the truth, and the truth will win out," Anderson said.   •