Upper School publications win state and national awards

Three Upper School student publications--Ibid yearbook, Iris: Art & Literature magazine, and RubicOnline online news--have been honored with accolades in state and national competitions. 

During this week's virtual convention of the Journalism Educators of America and the National Student Press Association, RubicOnline was named one of 43 Pacemaker finalists nationwide. The Pacemaker is known as "the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism" and is one of the most prestigious awards for high school journalism; Pacemaker entries are judged by teams of professional journalists based on coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography, and graphics. This is the sixth year in a row that RubicOnline or the print newspaper, The Rubicon, has been named a Pacemaker finalist. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 10.

"I'm incredibly proud of our staff," says US faculty member Kathryn Campbell, who directs SPA's student publications programs. "This would've been an easy year to step back, but instead, they stepped up their reporting to connect the community."

The Upper School's arts and literature magazine, Iris, has been awarded the Minnesota First Class Ranking by the National Council of Teachers of English for its 2020 issue. This is the second time in three years Iris has been awarded a First Class honor--the highest honor given to such publications. Campbell notes that the award is particularly impressive given that the 2020 issue of Iris was largely completed virtually last spring during the first wave of the pandemic. 

The Ibid yearbook staff received a pre-released copy of the 2020 Jostens Look Book, which contains a spread from the “You Are Made of Star Stuff” yearbook published last spring. The Look Book celebrates the best of the best in yearbook design and photography and features publications from across the country. This is the second year Ibid has had work selected by the judges to be featured in the book.

“I love that last year’s Ibid theme resonated with judges,” Campbell says. “When the Ibid editors chose it in the summer of 2019 they thought the duality of individual accomplishment and community connection are essential to student life at SPA. Never was that more true than in the spring as we wrapped up the book. Connection is who we are at SPA, whether in distance, hybrid, or in person.”

Congratulations to all our award-winning student journalists!