Winners!
St. John’s School earns PSJA Blue and Gold
Here are the winners from the 2024 PSJA Contest.
St. John’s School’s The Review earned first place. In all, PSJA and Quill and Scroll gave out 39 awards. Here they are:
Blue and Gold award
First Place — The Review, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Editorial Leadership
First Place — Lucas Seguinot, Matthias Jaylen, Lily Zuckerman, Xavier Rolston, The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Second Place — Callie Solomon, Peter Kumar, Jeremiah Farr, Georgetown Day School, Washington, D.C.
Third Place — St. John’s Editorial Board, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Continuous Team Coverage
First Place — Yoni Zacks, Amelia Bush, Mackenzie Higgins, Gabriella Marmet, The Blake School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Second Place — The Standard Staff, American School in London, The American School in London, London, England
Third Place — Lake Forest Academy Staff, Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest, Illinois
Freshman of the Year
First Place — Genevieve Ederle, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place — Bella Dodig, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Third Place — Rebecca Lopez, Westridge School, Pasadena, California
Sophomore of the Year
First Place — Aila Jiang, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place — Rachael Rosenberg, Brimmer and May School, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Third Place — Alice Faber, The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Junior of the Year
First Place — Elizabeth Hu, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place — Amelia Bowman, Brimmer and May, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Third Place — Ella Bilu, Westridge School, Pasadena, California
New Writer of the Year
First Place — Elizabeth Hu, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place — Aleena Gilani, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Third Place — Grace de Souza, Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona
Features Writer of the Year
First Place — Lily Feather, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place — Sammy Lou, Trinity Preparatory School, Winter Park, Florida
Third Place — Jane Burkhardt, Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona
Sports Writer of the Year
First Place — Vivian Amoia, Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona
Second Place — David Hull, Trinity Preparatory School, Winter Park, Florida
Third Place — Katharine Yao, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Opinions Writer of the Year
First Place — Inez Stephenson, The American School in London, London, England
Second Place — Evan Michaeli, Brimmer and May, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Third Place — Ella Bilu, Westridge School, Pasadena, California
Photographer of the Year
First Place — Ayanna Beckett, The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Second Place — Laila Taraporevala, The American School in London, London, England
Third Place — Curtis Craig, Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Social Media Journalist of the Year
First Place — Ella Bilu, Westridge School, Pasadena, California
Second Place — Grace Thomas, Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona
Versatile Journalist of the Year
First Place — Matthias Jaylen Sandoval, The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Second Place — Asiana Guang, Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona
Third Place — Lily Feather, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Designer of the Year
First Place — Amanda Brantley, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place — Eden Leavey, The American School in London, London, England
Third Place — Lucy Chong, Trinity Preparatory School, Winter Park, Florida
About the Contest
The PSJA Journalism Contest, co-sponsored by Quill and Scroll, seeks to honor the best journalism produced by private and independent school students. It is a “portfolio” contest, one that seeks not to reward single stories, but a pattern of excellence over the course of a year.
School first-place winners will receive plaques, while second- and third-place winners will receive unframed certificates. Quill and Scroll will tabulate points of all students who place in the competition and award the Blue and Gold Award plaque to the school that compiles the most points.
The top school will also earn free memberships to Quill and Scroll for four of its winning students, provided they meet the organization’s academic standards (3.0 GPA or top-third in one’s class: sophomore, junior or senior, and have a Quill and Scroll Charter).
Categories
Editorial Leadership
- The editorial team from each student publication should submit a letter on managing a newsroom at their private or independent school, along with at least five examples (stories, photos, design elements, etc.) that resulted from the team’s leadership. Applicants should explain how their leadership helped the publication confront a sensitive or challenging issue, unique to their school.
Continuous Team Coverage
- Publications should submit three to five three stories by at least three different reporters offering in-depth coverage of the same topic, which should be somewhat specific. For example, don’t submit three stories about “the administration.” Instead, report how the administration addressed a specific issue. Video and audio stories can be included.
Freshman of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles and a letter explaining the significance of the applicant’s contributions. Video and audio stories can be included.
Sophomore of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles and a letter explaining the significance of the applicant’s contributions. Video and audio stories can be included.
Junior of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles and a letter explaining the significance of the applicant’s contributions. Video and audio stories can be included.
News Writer of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles. Submissions should focus specifically on stories about news that happens in your community and/or school. These can include but aren’t limited to: breaking news, coverage of scheduled events, in-depth news packages (even if part of team coverage), Video and audio stories can be included if there’s clear evidence of script writing in the stories.
Features Writer of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles. Submissions should focus on people and events in your community and/or school. These can include but aren’t limited to: trend stories, arts features, event coverage (previews and post-event stories), profiles, features and historical stories. Video and audio stories can be included if there’s clear evidence of script writing in the stories.
Sports Writer of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles. Submissions can include but aren’t limited to: sports news, game coverage (previews and post-game stories), profiles, features, historical stories, sports opinion, and stories that aren’t about school-sponsored athletics, though the preponderance of a portfolio should cover the school and its athletes and coaches. Video and audio stories can be included if there’s clear evidence of script writing in the stories.
Opinions Writer of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to five articles. Submissions can include but aren’t limited to: news analysis, editorials, personal columns and critiques of the arts. Video and audio stories can be included if there’s clear evidence of script writing in the stories.
Photographer of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to 10 photos with captions. The photos can run the gamut of sports, news, features, portraits and photo illustrations, but the winning portfolio is likely to show the photographer’s skill at mastering different types of assignments.
Social Media Journalist of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to 10 posts. The posts can run the gamut of social media platforms, but the winning portfolio is likely to show skill with design and reader engagement.
Versatile Journalist of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person that highlights a student-journalist’s ability to excel across categories. A portfolio could include a news story, a feature story, a sports story, an opinion piece, a photo, an illustration, a design, a podcast, a video package — no more than one per type, and no more than five examples in a single entry.
Designer of the Year
- A portfolio submission by a single person, including up to eight designs. The designs can run the gamut of print, online, social media, etc., but the winning portfolio is likely to show the designer’s skills at mastering different types of assignments.
