On November 16th, The Trumpet staff and part of the Par Key staff will travel to Penn State Berks to compete against fellow high school journalists to become number one in various categories, spanning from photos to writing.

The competition is run through the Pennsylvania School Press Association, an organization that aims to promote and encourage student journalism in Pennsylvania. The competition is split into 16 categories, including areas for writers, photographers, cartoonists, and broadcasters.  

Only two participants from each school can enter into each category. In a writing category, you are asked to write about a given topic in 250-300 words in the designated time period. For photo categories, photos are sent in ahead of time, tying into multiple given subjects to be judged. There is even a cartoon category; the artist is given a topic and is asked to create a relevant editorial cartoon based on it. After everyone is judged and scored, finalists are named and then are eligible to move on to a higher competition.

This will be Parkland’s first time competing, so be sure to cheer on your fellow students when they travel to PSU Berks on November 16!