Fueled by enthusiasm, teamwork and countless cups of coffee, The Pearl Post has produced phenomenal content this year. Despite being separated into two different class periods and having a staff of only 13, we are proud of what our staff has achieved and the impact we’ve made.

After publishing our first magazine issue of the school year, we set an ambitious goal to completely redesign the magazine to look more modern and cohesive. In addition, we decided to produce an issue at the end of each mester rather than bi-monthly. Both of these goals were successfully accomplished. 

Another one of the goals we set was to keep the website updated regularly with timely and localized content. We fully accomplished this goal, posting on the website typically three to five times a week.

We also wanted to make multimedia content a priority on our website, which we knew would be a challenge considering our small staff size and lack of a photo editor. However, our staff vastly exceeded our expectations and published over a dozen photo slideshows, eight videos and seven episodes of the Room 22 podcast.

Communication and staff comradery were other priorities for us this year. Our staff was able to bond both in and outside of the classroom, including at the National High School Journalism Convention (NHSJC) in April. We also bolstered our staff spirit at events such as the State Student Media Contests, where our team won first place in the journalism quiz bowl. 

The Pearl Post earned several awards for our work this year at the state and national levels. We were finalists for the prestigious Online Pacemaker, presented by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). Our website also earned second place in the California All Stars contest. Our staff was awarded four Site Excellence badges from SNO Sites for writing, multimedia, audience engagement and continuous coverage, which is the most The Pearl Post has ever earned. The Pearl Post was also recently named a finalist in the Los Angeles Press Club Southern California Journalism Awards in five categories.

It has been an honor to lead The Pearl Post this year and we are thrilled by the hard work our staff has put in. We know that our staff will accomplish great things in the years to come.