The Bear Truth newspaper staff at Winter Springs High School has recently earned national recognition from the American Scholastic Press Association for winning first place for the print version of The Bear Truth.

To put this achievement into perspective: WSHS is the only high school in Florida to win this award and one of only 18 high schools to win in this category (enrollment of 1701-2500) for the entire USA.

The American Scholastic Print Association is an organization that is considered to be the “Pulitzer prize” of high school journalism, with score publications in five areas including concept and essentials, content, writing, arts/graphics, and layout.

Congratulations to our 2020 Bear Truth newspaper staff for this outstanding achievement. The staff is led by adviser, Dr. Paula Vickers and members for the submission of the publication include: Riley Hazel, Editor in Chief, Reanna Ettman, Sara-James Ranta, Sofia Guerra Martinez, Miranda Guthrie, Bailey McLean, Allie Nichols, Olivia Song, and Emily Tran.

But how do our reporters feel about the success?

Riley Hazel, who was the Editor-In-Chief at the time of submission, said “I had honestly forgotten that we had applied since we submitted our application for review months ago. When I heard the news, I was overcome by joy and a sense of pride for everyone on staff. We were all relatively new to reporting and had no expectations of receiving recognition. I’d say it was a shock to all of us.”

Emily Tran, who was the feature editor at the time of submission, said “I am still in shock actually. I knew that our paper was pretty good, but I didn’t know that we could win such an amazing award for it.”

Bailey Mclean, who was news editor at the time of submission, said “I was very excited about winning and it feels great to see all our hard work being recognized!”

This year, our team has grown to include 23 staff members who work on the newspaper via face to face, Seminole Connect, and SCVS. The Bear Truth staff sends a big thank you for the non-stop support and excitement from Winter Springs High School, the teachers and staff, the students and their parents.