The Falcon Press online newspaper staff, comprised of Journalism II/III students, was awarded its 3rd consecutive national gold medal distinction this week by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA); the Association is owned and operated by Columbia University.

CSPA awards gold medals to student newspapers, magazines, yearbooks or online media for earning total scores from 800 to 1,000 points in three categories: essentials, verbal, and visual. Awards are based on the previous year’s publication.

“I am more than proud of these kids and the work they put into the publication and its social media platforms,” Adviser Erin Tonelson said. “Even though the majority of this class graduated in June, there are more amazing students to follow in their footsteps.  We also recently won our 6th 1st place distinction in online news from the Virginia high School League (VHSL).  We have gotten some great feedback and insight from both CSPA and VHSL, and continuously try to make the student newspaper better and more informative.”