Staff Wins Awards

Members of the Shark Encounter newspaper staff, and the Voyage Sans Fin literary magazine participated in the Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) district competition at the University of South Florida Nov. 9. The representatives of Riverview High School brought home awards in two categories; poetry, and commentary. Madeline Planchet and Nicolette Ruppert of the Voyage Sans Fin literary magazine took second place in poetry, while Katie Muratti and Emma Richards earned an honorable mention in commentary.

“The FSPA district competition was a very good learning experience,” commented Richards. “It taught me and Katie quite a bit about journalism, and how we can improve our writing.”

“To be able to complete the poem, we had to work together really well, and make sure we knew what we were writing about,” Planchet said. “We also couldn’t be doubting ourselves, and we needed to be confident in our abilities.”

The four girls went up against over 50 other schools in the Tampa Bay Area, and it was a very big surprise when they were given their awards.

“I squealed, jumped up, and couldn’t believe that we could do something like that,” Ruppert admitted. “Out of all the schools that were participating in that contest, we won one of the top spots, and I’m so proud to be able to represent my school like that.”

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for these four ladies who worked very hard to earn these honors,” said Mike Zelazo, the adviser for both RVHS’s creative writing program, and the newspaper. “The newspaper and literary book are extremely proud of their accomplishments,” he added.