YHS Reaps Top Awards For Three Publications

Three YHS student publications were recently recognized with state awards at Press Days in Brookings. Pictured back row from left: Sandy Hoffner, Haylee Worm, Jenna DeBoer, Kamrie Mammola, Jill Mikkelsen. Front row from left: Eileen Mullican and Makayla Thieman. (Andrew Atwal-P&D)

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Three student publications from Yankton High School (YHS) were recently honored as being among the best in the state at Press Days in Brookings.

The YHS literary magazine, The Cellar Door, and the yearbook both won all-state awards. The school newspaper, the Woksape, was given a first place award, which is basically a runner up to an all-state award.

“I took over the yearbook 12 years ago and this has been the eighth all-state award that we’ve won,” said Jill Mikkelsen, advisor for the yearbook. “It’s a huge deal to get awarded and recognized for the work you’ve done.”

Several criteria went into judging the yearbook including, unifying concept, coverage, photos, writing and digital graphics, among others.

Sandy Hoffner, who has been the advisor for the literary magazine for 15 years, said this was the seventh all-state award the magazine has won.

Mikkelsen said the yearbook is an extracurricular activity at YHS, which is one of the only large school districts in the state that has it as an extracurricular, not as a class.

“It puts a bit of a burden on kids because they have to be here after school and they’re all in other activities as well,” she said. “The fact that it is after school, and they’re spending their after-school time on the yearbook truly shows their commitment and desire to be on the staff.”

The Cellar Door publishes students’ creative writing and art.

“This is so important for students because so much of the spotlight on extracurricular activities goes to things like sports,” Hoffner said. “As I’ve told my staff, we could have the next JK Rowling in here. These are the students that like writing. Who knows where they might go with it one day? Students that are into art and writing deserve a place to get recognized.”

Eileen Mullican, who works on the magazine, said there are a number of reasons why she wanted to be a part of it.

“I enjoy both the reading aspects of it and also helping authors and artists refine the work they’ve submitted,” she said.

McKayla Thieman said she enjoys reading each work that is submitted and getting to select items for publication.

Press Days, which was held in Brookings last week, features about 25 other school districts from across the state. The program has a keynote speaker and several mini-sessions, including photography, writing and graphics. There is also lunch provided and the awards presentation at the end of the day.

“I took two students and Teri Mandel (advisor of the newspaper) took two students and they said they liked the sessions,” Mikkelsen said. “As an extracurricular activity, they are in it because they like writing, photography and design. They like going to those sessions and hearing people that work in the field talk about those particular areas.”

Hoffner said there are about 10-12 people on the magazine staff, and jobs include reading everything that comes in, deciding which gets published, selecting art and designing the magazine itself.

The magazine is typically 30-40 pages long, and features about 20 poems, essays and stories and about 14 pieces of art in each issue.

The yearbook staff is divided into smaller staff groups for categories including sports, student life, academics and activities, with each group having one staff member in charge.

“Having the yearbook a few nights a week forces you to organize your time. It forces students to be on top of things and make sure everyone is covering something each week,” Mikkelsen said. “It forces students to prioritize their time and use the time they have wisely by sitting down and working to get a product done.”

She added that students are always moving, and each time they meet, there is a deadline that needs to be met.

The Woksape is also an extracurricular activity, but Mandel also teaches a course on journalism that students can take.

Mikkelsen said her students work hard throughout the year on the yearbook, so it is an honor for them to be recognized.

“We spend from August until the middle of June working on the book and getting it ready for publishing,” she said. “When we have people look at and judge our book and tell us that we have achieved excellence in a number of different areas, it’s a wonderful way to have your work recognized and is a wonderful honor.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2012/11/01/community/doc5091ebf94fe88572723691.txt