Round Rock High School - Dragon Yearbook (Round Rock, TX)

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Newspaper staff has winning year We produced nine issues of the Spitfire and even met deadlines! said Spitfire Editor Melissa Perez with special pride since she entered the year somewhat concerned about the capability of the staff. I assigned a few pieces of copy to the new staff writers, but five of us actually wrote, pasted-up and delivered the first issue, she said. Bobby Heard, managing editor, also lacked confidence in the staff. They were generally inexperienced with almost none of them ever having had Journalism I. This was their first jour- nalism class. As the staff began work on the second issue, Perez's perceptions of her staff changed, I assigned more stories to the new writers and was surprised to find that I not only had hard workers, I had a talented staff. The more issues we worked on, the better they became. The staffs' effort was rewarded when they received the Award of Distinguished Merit at the spring In- terscholastic League Press Conference. As the year con- tinued, the staff was recognized again and again for their performances. We attended district, which was held here at RRHSQ' explain- ed Perez, Jenny Ford placed third in the feature competi- tion and second in headlines. Meredith Kuempel placed first in newswriting and Kim Mahagan placed third. Ford went on to Regionals in Lub- bock where she received a first place in features and a second in headlines. Ford went on to compete in the State UIL meet held in Austin where she took second in headlines and fifth in features. SPITFIRE STAFF: fBott0m Rowj Rachell Owen, Rhonda Hanna, Melissa Perez, Kim Mahagan, tSecond Row! Susan Komandosky tad- visorl, John Layton, Ann Fierke, Gilbert Renaud, Dan Schulkeg tTop Rowj Meredith Kuempel, Maria Wise, Kevin Stolle, Jenny Ford, Doyle Haynes. Melissa Perez, senior, looks up from her reading to check on the staff. Perez was editor-in-chief of the newspaper for the second consecutive year and received the Who's Who in Journalism award. 44 Spitfire Staff 'Qwfusv-:vo-wiv'---5 'M ,,, , ,i Jenny Ford, senior, contemplates possibilities for her next column. Ford, 1 managing editor and columnist, placed in state UIL competition in t' journalism events. , ,fmfh l,i'k:l John Layton, junior, moves forward to accept his staff award at the journz ism banquet. Layton was a photographer for both publications and won Tops in Texas award for his feature photography.

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rbara Graham, senior and editor-in-chief of the Dragon, helps staff amber Jennifer Emry, sophomore, design a layout. Layout design was prac- ed the first semester of the year. i df, .sf nv g Q fi' 6 ' Q. e 'F I Computer changes production Work Journalism includes a training class, two produc- tion classes and a number of independent study classes. Students produced both the newspaper and the yearbook. In the beginning class, students learned the basics for both advanced produc- tion classes. In independent study, students worked on various aspects of newspaper and yearbook production - developing and printing photographs, writing copy and practicing layout and design techniques. The big difference for the newspaper and yearbook staffs this year was that all copy, such as stories, headlines and captions were typed into an IBM-PC com- puter. The Spitfire was one of the first newspapers in the state to be typed in on a com- puter and transmitted by telephone to the printer. l'm excited about using the com- puter because it eliminates many of the mistakes we have had in the pastf' com- mented Mrs. Susan Koman- dosky, sponsor of both staffs. The yearbook was also done on computer, a change from previous years when all copy was done on a typewriter. The computer made the task of putting together the yearbook a great deal easier. Barbara Graham, senior and editor-in-chief of the Dragon, said, I like us- ing the computer, it makes things a lot more convenient and efficient. .3 L lf 5-Q If W 4 M New to the department, the IBM Personal Computer was beneficial to both the publications staffs. Senior Melissa Perez, editor of the Spitfire, types in copy for an issue of the paper. Heather McDevitt, junior, and foreign exchange student Nick Bryld, junior review their assignments in Susan Komandosky's first year journalism class. L.. X7 Journalism 43

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Juniors Dan Schulke and Ann Fierke learn about doing pasteup through hands-on experience. Schulke was the cartoonist and entertainment editor and Fierke was a staff writer. Bobby Heard, junior, practices the art of the relaxed interview as he talks Zlvith Interim Superintendent Alice Brown about proposed changes within the istrict. 'Wd Assistant sports editor Joe Sims, sophomore, works on one of the IBM-PC computers which the staff used to prepare the newspaper for publication. Senior Meredith Kuempel participates in a staff brainstorming session where topics for proposed stories are discussed and plans made for the next issue. Spitfire Staff 45