Newspaper students were recognized for their collective effort when it was recently announced that the 2014-15 Guidon has been awarded All-Kansas from the Kansas Scholastic Press Association.

All-Kansas is the top state award presented to student yearbooks, newspapers and websites. Yearbook awards are typically announced late fall, while newspaper and website awards are announced in late spring. Hays High’s newspaper was named in the Class 4A division. This marks the third consecutive year and the fifth time in the last seven years the Guidon has been named All-Kansas.

“All-Kansas is our ultimate goal for our publications, so it goes without saying that I’m extremely proud of the newspaper staff,” adviser Bill Gasper said. “The award is a result of many hours of hard work by the staff and a belief of what they are doing is very important. And, not only is their work important, they are also learning valuable future workplace skills such as effective communication, teamwork, problem solving and creative thinking.”

Newspapers are judged in five areas – coverage, reporting, design, visuals and leadership. In each area, newspapers are awarded either an All-Kansas, an Award of Commendation, or an Award of Merit.

To earn the overall All-Kansas rating, a newspaper must have the top rating in at least three areas. The Guidon earned the top distinction in all five areas.

Editors of the newspaper are juniors Sylina Zhang and Briana Mathias. Other staff members are seniors Max Befort, Rachael Arthur and Sarah Rooney, juniors Elizabeth Arthur, Kaylee Brin, Hannah Baxter, Nikki Vuong and Jacey Schaffer, and sophomores Anniston Weber, Madison Crees, Raina Basso and Kara Brooks.

“It’s a great group, a very talented group, which certainly makes my job easier,” Gasper said. “They certainly deserve the recognition.”

Zhang and Mathias have been members of the newspaper staff for two years and are currently serving their first stint as editors-in-chief.

“We are a very dynamic group and each member of the staff brings a unique talent,” Zhang said. “Although we have varying perspectives, we are a great team. I am very proud of what we have accomplished.”

Mathias echoed those sentiments, saying she was pleased upon hearing the All-Kansas news.

“When I got the email from Mr. Gasper, I opened it immediately and was very excited about what we have done,” Mathias said. “We worked really hard this year to accomplish this and I look forward to continuing the success next year as a senior.”