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he Freeport High School newspaper, “Flashings,” won a first-place award in the American Scholastic Press Association annual newspaper competition for being one of the best overall newspapers.
The association, which serves more than 2,000 schools annually, hailed the publication as an “excellent school newspaper, which shows the talent of the editors, reporters, writers, photographers, layout designers and advisor(s).”
At the helm of the newspaper is high school student Daniel Camacho, senior editor, and students Michelle Mikolajczyk and Allan Pacheco, junior editors.
“Acknowledging student voices through a forum of their own is commendable,” said Virginia Schmitt DeFrancisci, a teacher and advisor for the newspaper. “We are very proud of the students.”
The win was a step up for the newspaper, which had captured a second place award the past two years. The competition also has individual awards for reporters who cover a particular story. “Winning individual awards is a goal for next year,” DeFrancisci said.
Freeport Public Schools is a diverse, innovative district on Long Island’s South Shore serving about 6,750 students in grades Pre-K through 12. The district and its eight schools take pride in having the region’s only magnet schools of choice, a longstanding and award-winning classroom English/Spanish Dual Language Program, and a high school where students excel in competitions that include the regional Academic Challenge, Odyssey of the Mind and Future Problem Solving International.
The district’s New Visions School of Exploration and Discovery has been named a No Child left Behind Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for its high student performance and engaging curriculum. |
