After two months of scrutiny, The Feather was selected as one of the top seven finalists for the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) annual online Pacemaker competition on March 22.

A Pacemaker will be awarded to three outstanding high school publication websites. Online entries were judged throughout the months of February and March, on content, design, navigation, writing, editing, graphics and interactivity.

?I remember the night when I found a website called ‘Highwired;’ it was a free high school website service,? Tim Wilkins, superintendent, said. ?Greg Stobbe and I sat down and spent hours looking at it, within weeks we built the online newspaper. And now look what the online newspaper has grown to be.?

Winners will be announced at the JEA/NSPA Spring High School Journalism Convention held in San Francisco on April 22. The Journalism Educators Association also sponsors the convention. Thousands of high school journalists from across the country will attend the convention for workshops, seminars and awards.

?In God?s eyes the journalism class are already winners,? Wilkins said. ?It is exciting to see students who contribute countless hours of dedication receive credit for their efforts.?

Some other selected finalists include The Paly Voice, from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California, and Grizzly Gazette,? from Granite Hills High School in Porterville, California. More information about the finalists and the competition can be found at the NSPA website.

The NSPA has previously awarded The Feather print edition as a First Class newspaper with marks of distinction in 2005 and 2000.

The Feather seeks to be a forum and voice for the students on campus and has done so online since 2001.

?Compared to any other elective offered at FC, I have seen journalism help improve students? skills the most,? Shaunna Miller, ?06, said. ?I am so excited for what they have accomplished because they do not get recognized enough for their hard work. I really regret not taking a publications class.?

However the accomplishments by the current journalism students were not attainable without the consistent work of staff members who were committed over the last years.

If there are students who would still like to attend the convention, they should contact adviser Stobbe immediately or go the convention website to register.

For a complete list of the online Pacemaker finalists and convention registration, go online at www.studentpress.org/nspa/. The JEA’s online website is www.jea.org.