2024-2025

IJEA All-State Journalism Team

IJEA began the All-State Journalism Team as a way to recognize those students who are “most valuable players” — those students whose leadership, energy, dedication and expertise make their publications possible but whose main contributions often occur behind the scenes. This year, the following MCHS students have made the team:

Lily Adams

 

CSPA Gold Circle Awards

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold Circle Awards are offered to recognize superior work by student journalists usually as individuals but sometimes as an entire staff working with either print or online media. The awards recognize individual achievement by students from any CSPA member in four major categories: News; Magazine; Digital Media; and Yearbook.

Photo slideshow
1st: Berenice Santiago – “A wild ride”

Newsmagazine Cover
2nd: Michalina Sotka, Aika Villa and Rose Wenckebach – “The Big Issue of Big Issues”

Sports Features

HM: Rose Wenckebach – “Hit the Mats”

Single Spot News Photograph

HM: Lily Adams – “Gallery: Spring spirit rally”

 

IJEA Newspaper & Digital News Media Contest

Each year, the IJEA hosts a newspaper and digital news media contest to recognize the best stories and content published by student journalists in the state of Illinois. The competition recognizes individual writers and stories in addition to the best print, digital, and hybrid publications.

Best Illustration
HM: Beth Brackmann – “Anticipation time”

 

Illinois Women’s Press Associations’s 2024 High School Communications Contest

Started in 1885, the IWPA is an organization of communications professionals whose objective is to maintain and improve the professional standards of members in mass communications in Illinois, to promote their interest, and to provide for the sharing of ideas and information. First place winners of their annual contest go on to compete in the National Federation of Press Women’s High School Communications Contest.

Rose Wenckebach – 2nd in Sports Photo

 

Illinois High School Association State Journalism Tournament

Members of the McHenry Messenger’s staff competed alongside their fellow journalists from Warrior Student Media (including The Warrior Weekly and The Warrior) at the IHSA’s State Journalism Tournament. The following students placed in the top six at the tournament’s Sectional competition on April 5, 2025.

Hunter Blake – 2nd in Sports Writing

Maggie Demski – 2nd in Headline Writing

Sydney Boswell – 2nd in Yearbook Caption Writing

Aika Villa – 3rd in Newspaper Design

Aubrey Butler – 3rd in Copy Editing, 4th in Editorial Writing

Stephanie Reyes – 3rd in Yearbook Page Design

Eli Frommes – 4th in Yearbook Copy Writing

Grace Crockett – 4th in News Writing

Berenice Santiago – 5th in Infographics

Grace Summers, Ffion Curtain and Travis Cokinos – 5th in TV News

Noah Outwater – 5th in Radio News

Rose Wenckebach – 6th in Photo Story Telling

 

Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown Award

The Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence. Both Gold Crown and Silver Crown Awards are given each year. A panel of Crown Judges assembles each year at Columbia University to view all entrants, whether they are newspaper, magazines, yearbooks or online media. This year, the McHenry Messenger was named one of 202 finalists from 540 entries.

On March 21, 2025, the CSPA announced the McHenry Messenger as a recipient of the Silver Crown Award.

 

Best of School Newspapers Online

School Newspapers Online (also known as SNO) is the platform that the McHenry Messenger uses to publish its online newspaper. They acknowledge the best stories being published on the SNO Sites network by labelling it as “Best of SNO” and republishing it on their website. The following articles have earned such designation this year:

“Worth the risk? by Lily Adams

“No place to hide” by Maggie Demski

“Seven southern Illinois counties want to secede from the state” by Michalina Sotka

 

NSPA Leadership Award in Student Journalism

To earn the National Scholastic Press Association‘s Leadership Award in Student Journalism, a high school student must serve with distinction for at least two years on the staff of an NSPA-member broadcast, literary arts magazine, newspaper/newsmagazine, specialty magazine, website or yearbook. Students must also be in good academic standing and demonstrate journalistic excellence and staff leadership while maintaining the high ethical standards outlined in the NSPA Model Code of Ethics. Inductees are eligible to wear the NSPA Leadership in Student Journalism teal honor cord at graduation. The following students received this honor from the NSPA this year:

Lily Adams

Hunter Blake

Grace Crockett

Maggie Demski

Eli Frommes

Gabe Santos

Michalina Sotka

Aika Villa