CAMARILLO : School Newspaper Earns Top Honor

The Stinger, Camarillo High School’s student newspaper, has earned the highest ranking among California high schools of its size in a national contest for school newspapers.

The American Scholastic Press Assn. of College Point, N.Y., grouped the Stinger with seven other outstanding high school newspapers nationwide this year, each of which earned first place with special merit.

The Stinger was chosen from more than 75 newspapers in its category, earning 980 out of 1,000 points possible.

Nine issues of the 20-page newspaper are published each school year on a budget of $7,000 to $8,000.

The award offers no money, just prestige and recognition. “It’s to see how we’re doing compared to everybody else,” said teacher and Stinger adviser Ellen Kersey.

“It makes the kids on the staff really proud, because it’s saying the kids’ work is worth something,” Kersey said. “What we’re doing is real stuff.”

Kersey said the Camarillo paper is better than others “because we care about everything.”

Four thousand copies are printed of each monthly issue. They are circulated free among the school’s nearly 2,000 students and mailed home to parents.

“It’s got something for everyone,” said co-editor Lisa Firestone, 17, who plans to attend Cornell University next year as a premed student.

Firestone has worked on the paper for three years along with her co-editor Ann Brotherton, also 17.

“I’ve met so many different people,” Firestone said. “I think it’s opened my eyes a lot.”

She said she plans to work for her college paper, although she intends to major in biological sciences.

Brotherton, who has been accepted at Cal State Chico, sees a future for herself in international relations, but she doesn’t know whether she will use her newspaper skills in that field.

Kersey, who acknowledged that she has had no formal journalism training, said she fell into advising the school paper, which now has a staff of 36, more than 20 years ago, when issues were printed on mimeograph machines.

“Everything I’ve learned I’ve learned the hard way,” she said.