Making it big time: With the Capitol Building as my background, how couldn't I have fun?

Every month, we here at The Bobcat Banner strive to inform the student body of the breaking stories, upcoming events, and anything the student body might find interesting. We work very hard to keep our news website updated, while coming up with fresh ideas for our bi-monthly magazine. Our hard work has paid off.

The editorial staff of the Banner attended the yearly Michigan Interscholastic Press Assosciation (MIPA) conference in Lansing in order to recieve critique on our news-magazine, also this year being the first year entering our website for rating on April 30, 2010. Editor-in-Chief, Kayla Cornell, and Copy Editor, Sarah Campbell, had a few weeks to prepare our contest entries, in which we send in three consecutive magazines and specific entries for categories from News to Opinion and everything in between.

Also, the Banner entered our website in the News Website Spartan Contest for the first year. This put pressure on the editors to always keep the website updated, not knowing when the Assosciation would be checking and judging the site.

“It was very hard to keep the site organized and up-to-date,” said web editor Dylan Page, “but the work was well worth it.”

As we walked into the hall where MIPA was hosted, a wide range of color and personality opened up before our eyes, seeing other schools’ newspaper and yearbook staff dressed up in superhero costumes and other apparel that showed off their style and passion for journalism. Sporting our Banner “tag-cloud” t-shirt design, we walked not knowing what to expect, but the excited atmosphere added to our hopes for a great rating.

As they read off personal awards, Editor in Chief Kayla Cornell recieved two honorable mentions for an Inforgraphic and Review, Managing Editor Jerry Hendrix recieved a third place for his review of “Paranormal Activity,” and comic corner student Brittany Boza recieved an honorable mention for her comics. And after a long few hours listening to all the awards, the time had come to check our news-magazines rating.

The rating system for MIPA consists of either a bronze, silver, gold, or the coveted Spartan award. Last year, the Bobcat Banner earned a silver for the newspaper, with good comments from all of the judges on style and design. But this year, with a brand new news-magazine and website, it was a whole new ballgame. We opened the sealed envelpe to learn that we had lived up to our goals. The magazine took a “gold” rating, with high comments on design and writing, while the website was only 17 points away from earning a Spartan, getting a gold rating also.

For the upcoming years, new editors Dylan Page and I have ambitions of a photo gallery, a video link, and coverage from corner to corner of this great school district. For suggestions to the editors, shoot us an email at  hsnews@grandblancschools.org and help us imporve your school’s newspaper.