From April 24-26, 23 editors and staff from CPPHS' Tesserae yearbook attended the National High School Journalism Convention in Seattle, Wash., accompanied by adviser Mike Simons. The students attended classes and workshops with 3,200+ other high school journalists from around the country, learning from professional journalists, designers, photojournalists and editors, and other student media advisers.
On Saturday morning, senior Co-Editors-in-Chief Leila Ianovici, Abrielle Drehmer, and Nate McIntosh and junior Photo Editor Dean Simons presented a three-hour "deep dive" strand of instruction to an audience of more than 100 advisers and yearbook students, sharing a behind-the-scenes look at Tesserae's theme development process.
Additionally, the group was present to accept a plaque honoring Tesserae's induction into the National Scholastic Press Association's Hall of Fame, a prestigious honor for the program which came after earning 10 All-American ratings from NSPA in the past 10 years, a perfect record. Tesserae is the 239th publication inducted into the Hall of Fame, and notably, the only publication to ever represent the state of New York! Everyone in CPP can be proud of the program's accomplishment and sustained excellence!
The good news doesn't stop there: Eight students competed in the National Student Media Contests, a head-to-head skills-based competition for design, photojournalism, writing, editing, and more, and all eight placed and received honors!
Honorable Mentions:
Nate McIntosh - Photography Portfolio
Liesel Despain - Yearbook Copy & Captions - Academics
Excellent:
Adrian Blouin - Feature Photography
Leila Ianovici - First Amendment Press Law & Ethics
Amanda Hall - Graphic Design - Advertising
Katie Shaddock - Yearbook Copy & Captions - Clubs
Superior:
Dean Simons - Photojournalism Story
Yael Bisson - Yearbook Copy & Captions - Sports
And, following on the heels of Tesserae's eighth consecutive CSPA Gold Crown, awarded in March for 2025's Volume 10, "& We're Just Getting Started," the book was honored as an NSPA Pacemaker Finalist and won the First Place trophy for Best in Show!
"Our students were excellent ambassadors for the Corning community and CPP in Seattle, and while the awards they're bringing home are wonderful to share with CPPHS, the skills the kids develop and growth they experience in our program are the real testament to the tradition of excellence they have established at Tesserae. Seeing our editors take center stage and teach kids just like them — really, who want to BE just like them — from all over the country on Saturday was a highlight of my year," Simons said. "We're grateful to the faculty, staff and administration at CPPHS and the district for their continued support of a student-run publication where our reporters and editors are trusted to cover authentic, important stories of the student body and community."
The editors and staff would like to thank the Community Foundation for a grant from the Clifton and Priscilla Smith Fund which supported a portion of their trip to the national convention.
Congratulations to the staff and editors at Tesserae, and co-advisers Mike Simons and Katie Paulison-Harris!