Timberlake’s Tiger Tales takes home prize

Student journalists at Spirit Lake’s Timberlake High School have won high honors from the American Scholastic Press Association for their work on the school newspaper, Tiger Tales.

Tiger Tales was one of five newspapers from schools in the same size category to be awarded First Place with Special Merit, the organization’s highest honor.

“A Red Carpet Affair,” a two-page feature on the 2006 senior prom, was one of only 10 newspaper sections from high schools in the country – of all sizes – to win a section award.

“I’m pretty proud of our little school. It’s just not the stereotypical thing for a little school to get something big like this, and it’s just really special,” features editor and senior Julia Andrews said in a news release. “I’m glad our talent was recognized.”

The paper earned 955 out of 1,000 possible points and received perfect scores in content coverage, page design and creativity.

“Our greatest accomplishment was winning the section award because there are only 10 schools in the nation who won it,” editor-in-chief Matt Parent, a junior, said in the news release.

According to the American Scholastic Press Association, First Place with Special Merit is given only to publications “that score over 900 points and, in the opinion of the judge, are an outstanding overall example of a scholastic publication in format, content and presentation.”

Last year’s yearbook staff, also advised by teacher Katie Suenkel, earned a First Place award from the same organization.

Post Falls senior a National Merit finalist

Steven Hudec, a senior at Post Falls High School, is a finalist in the 2007 National Merit scholarship program. He qualified based on his performance on the PSAT and SAT college entrance examinations.

Students earning National Merit scholarship finalist standing must score in the top one-half of 1 percent of the 2 million students who take the PSAT during their junior year.

In addition, they must score equally high on the SAT in their senior year, submit an application with teacher recommendations and demonstrate a commitment to academics and student involvement.

The Post Falls School District congratulated Hudec on his achievement in a news release last week.