The Feather Online will take a two-month hiatus over the summer after ten months producing a daily online newspaper. No articles or other content will be published until the 2008-09 school year begins, August 14; however, some may have missed highlighted articles and events throughout the year.
Over 520 articles were written this school year by a staff of 33. If readers did not get a chance to view them all, they are still available in the archive. Click on the Advanced Search button just below the masthead on the far right to find the desired topic. Type in a name, sport or other key word in either the text or caption box and press the search button to access specific articles.
While the archives are also available under the Resources menu button, the following articles give a snapshot into the 2007-08 school year.
The administration made several changes, including a new superintendent, Debbie Siebert. In addition, Long-time Principal Gary “Papa” Schultz will retire to serve the school by heading the Alumni Association. Associate principal Jon Endicott will succeed Schultz as principal, with Molly Sargent assuming his former role.
The girls’ basketball team narrowly lost a Central Section Division V Championship to Mission Prep at Selland Arena, Feb. 29. The golf team finished their season undefeated and placed third in the small schools division of the North Area Tournament, May 5.
Junior high sports teams were also successful, as baseball won the Fresno Unified Middle School Baseball Championships in a 21-11 victory against Carver Academy, March 12. The junior high boys’ basketball team was also triumphant after defeating Carver Academy 40-34 in the Fresno Unified Middle School Basketball Championships, Dec. 12.
For the first time in campus history, varsity cheer won the Varsity Performance Cheer Division at the United Spirit Association Nationals in Anaheim, March 6-9. The JV squad also added to its trophy case after being named Grand Champions of the JV and Jr. High division in the 10th annual Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders West Coast Championship, Feb. 16, and concluding their season undefeated.
In its inaugural year, Adventure PE offered excursions and unusual activities each month. Trips included surfing in Santa Cruz, biking in Yosemite, spelunking in Moaning Cavern and geocaching in Woodward Park. Adventure PE will be offered again next year.
In addition to sports, campus academics experienced success. The Academic Decathlon (AcaDec) team finished first in Division II, beating No. 2 Firebaugh by 431 points. Senior Brittany Lauber broke the campus AcaDec record by 500 points.
The video productions class made their mark at the 2008 Slick Rock Student Film Festival when sophomore Jesse Todd’s video, Inspiring the Innovative, was recognized as the music video award-winner.
Before performing their annual play, the drama class entered in a Fresno City College competition and attended a workshop at California State University, Fresno. The cast of “The Man Behind the Mask”, including an important role by freshman Ricky Lopez, performed the play May 9-10.
The first Rock These Walls, a concert series benefiting Phase II of the development plan, featured Christian band Building 429 and solo artist Aaron Shust. With an attendance of over 1,000, the concert occupied more than half of the Peoples Church sanctuary.
The Night of the Stars formal tradition continued with an underwater-themed dinner and presentation of class movies. Juniors dominated the film awards with their portrayal of Back to the Future, while the sophomore’s Forest Gump remake also captured the audience’s attention.
After being nominated as an Online Pacemaker Finalist in March, The Feather staff traveled to Anaheim for the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA)/Journalism Education Association (JEA) convention to await the judges’ announcements. The Feather was named an Online Pacemaker, its second Pacemaker since 2006, along with four other high school publications: The Paly Voice of Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, CA; The Grizzly Gazette of Granite Hills High School in Porterville, CA; The Wayland Student Press of Wayland High School in Wayland, MA; and The A-Blast of Annandale High School in Annandale, VA.
The Feather anticipates the release of the media center in the fall. This addition will house all multimedia, including videos, slideshows, podcasts and photo essays.
The Feather’s coverage encompasses news, features and sports stories; reviews of music, movies/TV, books, food and drama; and an opinion section including columns, monthly editorials and letters to the editor. Also, the publication introduced staff blogs this spring, available at The Feather Blogosphere.
The staff encourages and appreciates submitted comments, stories, letters, cartoons and other reader feedback. To access the top 10 and the month’s most commented on articles, hover over the top 10 button on the navigation bar and a drop-down menu will appear.
