Springtime means many things to people. For some, it could mean the end of winter, for others, it may mean spring sports. However, for the Comets’ Tale staff, spring means awards.

   Every year in late April, Grand Ledge High School’s The Comets’ Tale newspaper staff attends the MIPA (Michigan Interscholastic Press Association) awards in Lansing, MI. The Comets’ Tale competes against schools from around the state in many different categories such as: Informative Feature, Pro/Con Editorial Columns, Photo Story, Illustration, Personal Narrative, etc. The staff submitted a variety of articles, illustrations, and newspaper and online editions for judging and critiquing. The newspaper’s advisor, Shari Wolke, had high hopes for the Comets’ Tale.

   “Opening the envelope that they gave us at the end of the day at the MIPA event was amazing,” Ms. Wolke said. “I was, at first, in a state of shock, about the Gold, but then I just remember jumping up and down and screaming for maybe two straight minutes after seeing, in bright lettering, the word ‘Gold.’ I am so proud of the Comets’ Tale staff members for, late in September, being receptive to the idea of making a student news website, choosing the platform for hosting the site (Student Newspapers Online), earning Best of SNO recognition for a total of six articles, earning three Sno Badges (for Site Excellence, Story Page Excellence and Excellence in Writing), and improving on the website every single day. Each and every staff member contributed something to the website- and I can confidently say that without a team effort, the website would not have received Gold.”

   On Tuesday, April 23, the MIPA awards were held once again in the capital city. The Comets’ Tale, along with Quincy’s The Orioles, Mona Shores’ The Sailors’ Log, Novi’s The Wildcat Roar, Utica’s Arrow, and many other newspapers attended the event. At the ceremony, The Comets’ Tale took home four Honorable Mention Awards. Seniors Hannah Rose, Jonathan Callison, Joshua Blatt, and sophomore Robert Miller were awarded the Honorable Mentions for an Online Breaking News article, an Illustration, a Review, and a Sports News Story. Along with those, The Comets’ Tale was awarded a Silver Medal for their printed newspaper, and for their first year online website, they were awarded a Gold Medal. This is a big deal to the staff, especially with it being their first year with an online website. They strived to achieve the goal through hard work and a saying, “Go for Gold!”

   “I’m absolutely thrilled about winning gold for the website!” Online Editor Robert Miller said. “Last year, I only won bronze [at my old school], so it’s nice to see how much better I’ve gotten at developing and maintaining a website. I like how clean the website is, and also all the different stories that get published on there. This year, I won gold. Next year, the only acceptable award is the Spartan Award. I plan to make sure to update the website frequently, as well as win as many Sno Badges as possible.”

   The Editor-In-Chief of The Comets’ Tale, Hannah Rose, had a few words to say about the awards and her hope for the future Comets’ Tale.

   “I am ecstatic about winning silver and gold,” Rose said. “While we did not raise our newspaper ranking from last year, we persevered through the trails of this year with a whole new adviser, staff, and really Comets’ Tale as a whole, and I am proud of that. I am also extremely proud of receiving gold for our website the very first year we had it (thank you Rob). My hope for the future of The Comets’ Tale is that future staff continues to strive to better themselves and our production. More importantly, I hope The Comets’ Tale can keep the family aspect; our close knit class is what really got us through and it’s one of the best parts of being on the paper. Finally, I hope the topics that the staff writes about continue to be influential and informative for the GL community. With Foy and Kelly running the show, and Rob and Matt backing them up, I have faith all of my hopes for the future will be met.”

   Ms. Wolke also reflected on what she would like to see in the future for The Comets’ Tale.

   “The best part of being an adviser is encouraging excellence everything that we do and then stepping back and watching students lead the way to even bigger and better things that I could have imagined,” Ms. Wolke said. “I hope to continue to be able to work with such talented students with such dedication and drive.”

   With the seniors moving on to bigger and better things, they are leaving the newspaper in good hands. The next challenge will be improving the newspaper and making the website fulfill its potential. If The Comets’ Tale succeeds in this challenge, there will be many awards in the near future.