The staff of The Prophet won a gold medal for the National Scholastic Press Association. [Click to enlarge]

The 2007 yearbook, The Prophet, earned a Gold Medal from the National Scholastic Press Association.

"These books are the best of the best," said executive director Edmund Sullivan. "We receive thousands of entries from around the country, but only a small percentage place in the top categories," he said.

Yearbooks are judged on graphic design, writing, photography, and concept development.

The yearbook adviser is Susan Martin and Amber Wright was the editor.

The 2007 book won Best of Show at the state competition held in October and was then sent on to the national level.

"Yearbooks are not what they used to be," said Martin. "They are very journalistically sound, with a lot of attention paid to details. Students are expected to research and write good stories and to create well-developed designs. They have to work hard to create a great book and win awards," she said.

Two journalism students also received recognition while competing at the Journalism Education Association's National Conference held in Anaheim, Calif., April 16-20.

Junior Daniel Katsules received a third-place award for sports writing, and sophomore Summer Allison placed third in feature writing.

"These students did an awesome job," said Martin. "Competition is really steep at the national level, so it shows how hard they've worked at their writing."