Superintendent Brad Zilliox’s words at a board meeting earlier this month referred to an ever so familiar trip for Fredonia Principal Darrin Paschke and teacher Lisa Reinhardt to take with students involved in one of the district’s most successful activities.

The Spectator is consistently one of the best student newspapers in all of New York State. Yet again, Fredonia students got the recognition their production deserves earlier this month.

For the sixth time, the Fredonia High School student newspaper was presented with multiple awards, including Best High School Newspaper, at the New York Press Association (NYPA) conference at the Saratoga Hilton on March 21-22. Four students, Reinhardt and Paschke attended the conference and awards ceremony as guests of NYPA, where the Spectator received 11 awards.

“This was an incredible learning experience for students who attended workshops and mingled with journalists who appreciated their work,” Reinhardt said. Dadie Sedota co-advises the paper with Reinhardt.

Ben Feit, far right, and Ray Dai, second from right, are among the four editors of Fredonia’s student newspaper, The Spectator.

The Spectator staff is comprised of more than 50 students, including some of the district’s highest achieving students. Ava Hartung, the Class of 2024 Valedictorian, and Owyn Darrell-Sterbak, the Class of 2024 Salutatorian, both received NYPA awards for their work with the Spectator. Darrell-Sterbak was one of four Editors-in-chief, along with Isaac Williams, Ben Feit, and Ray Dai. Feit is a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship, and Dai represented the United States at the International Geography Olympiad last August in Maynooth, Ireland.

“Being able to compete with schools across the state is very impressive for such a small school. I truly don’t think people understand how impressive this is, and I think we have a lot of talented journalists in Fredonia,” Williams said.

In addition to Best High School Newspaper, the Spectator received 10 individual awards, including first place awards for Williams’ photography and Darrell-Sterbak’s column.

Second place awards went to Dai for best news story; Hartung for best column; and Cooper Stenger for best photography. Sophia Gullo won the third place award in the best column category, while Brady Crawford was the third place winner in the best feature category.

Dai’s story, “Troubled Waters,” covered the conflict in the Village of Fredonia surrounding the village board’s decision to change its water source from its reservoir to Lake Erie. His story also won the Empire State School Press Association (ESSPA) Gold Award this past fall, one of 14 awards the Spectator won.

Dai said of his latest triumph, “As both co-editor-in chief and recipient of the second place in New York State for news writing, which I received for covering Fredonia’s water source debate, I am beyond honored to receive this achievement. Not only could our first place win not have been possible without the tireless work of my advisers and everyone else on the Spectator staff, but I am also incredibly grateful for everyone in our community who helped contribute to my story.”

NYPA hosts one high school and one college publication each year, based on points awarded in various categories. Awards also go to community publications throughout the state that are recognized for excellence. Ithaca college won the college best newspaper award.

The judging summary highlighted the publication’s fascinating topics, clear writing, and consistently strong photography among the reasons why Fredonia’s newspaper stands above the rest. The Spectator received 100 points in the judging process, narrowly defeating Tower, a publication of The Masters School of Dobbs Ferry, which earned 95 points.

The judges said in a statement to the Spectator, “Hats off for taking your journalism mission seriously. Your ambitious work demonstrates how much you care about the community you live in.”

Board of Education President Steve Johnston joked that Paschke must have become so used to attending the event that he probably does not even need to use a GPS to find his way there. Paschke responded that he already knew all the best restaurants in town, including a breakfast stop that has bagels that he called “out of this world.”

Similar praise could be given to his students and the work they put together each and every year.