On Monday October 9th, members of the Lafayette Ledger attended a journalism conference in Richmond, VA to attend seminars for polishing their craft, and accept a First Class award from the Virginia High School League.

The conference took place during the school day and required special permission and division-assigned transportation for attendees.  Back during 4th block, attendees were nonetheless able to attend seminars designed to inform and innovate school newspapers, yearbooks and literary magazines. Some of the dozens of topics covered by the guest presenters included poetry, journalism 101, and how to make writing more interesting for the reader. Ellie Klee described the conference as “a fun experience.”

Each year, Lafayette submits Lit Mag, Yearbook and Newspaper entries in the VHSL competition.  Judges evaluate entries and send detailed feedback the following semester, and over time LHS student publications have won 1st, 2nd and 3rd class awards, as well as individual awards for layout, writing & original advertisement design.  This past year was Lafayette’s first year entering its newspaper as an online publication, all previous years having been paper submissions.  Winning First Class the first year out was a clear victory for the hardworking Ledger staff.