The recent success of our online newspaper has brought about many different reactions from students and staff. Shock, awe, disbelief and amazement, just to name a few.

Yet the recurring emotion felt by The Feather staff is best described by poet David Frost who once said, ìDon’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.î

The news came quick and spread even faster as we all learned what our small school paper had accomplished. The feeling was that of doubt. We did not want to get too far ahead of ourselves before discovering the true weight of the award in hand.

We questioned and researched just how momentous the award was. A Pacemaker award by the National Scholastic Press Association at the National Journalism Convention in San Francisco turns out to be the equivalent of a high school Pulitzer.

With only a month left of school and the peak of this yearís paper reached, its only natural to assume the work is done. But The Feather staff is still hard at work to keep the online paper updated every day.

This is only the beginning for this young publications class. The passion of a motivating adviser and a community of writers eager to help one another contributes to success.

Success should breed an opportunity to improve. Oswald Chambers, British theologian famous for his devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, once said, ìLearn not to make a fetish out of rare moments.î

We are only as good as our competition. The Feather staff shares the Pacemaker honor along with the The Paly Voice of Palo Alto High School and Silver Chips of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Springs, Maryland.

Chambers also added a final warning to those who have experienced success: ìDo not make a god out of your best moments.î We will continue to write even when no one reads the paper and continue to serve even when it goes unnoticed.