Mrs. Hoskin and Ms. Hodge took a field trip with Creative Writing students and some of The Sting’s staff to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIUC) for SISPA’s 74th Annual Winter Conference.
The students who went are Alyssa Stehl (9), Annah Helvey Ahring (11), Elizabeth Wilson (11), Emily Gruenewald (11), Hannah Hoskin (10), Hannah Stueve (10), Hayden Cartwright (11), Isabel Smith (10), Kenna Thompsan (9), Maci Ahring (9), Megan Zimmer (11), Natalie Guethle (9), Sunny Jaunsel (11), and Savannah Heathington (9).
When the students arrived, they were headed to the student center for the opening ceremony, which consisted of what it meant to be a journalist and some tips on how to write about specific topics.
Students then were able to participate in a variety of on-site writing and photography competitions. As well as the different contests, there were sessions and classes about different writing and photography topics. Students ate lunch in between the different events and enjoyed different activities like shopping, bowling, and more.
Finally, everyone was guided to the closing ceremony that once again happened in the student center. This is where SISPA handed out different awards to all of the many different schools that showed up. Chester High School even won an award in second place for “Best Digital Homepage Design.”
At last, the students went back to CHS and waited out the rest of the day to celebrate their award.
