The three branches of MacJ—newspaper, yearbook and digital media—combined forces to represent the program very well at the 2022 Southern Interscholastic Press Association annual convention.  MacJ took home one of the five coveted Scroggins Awards for high school student media. SIPA, a press association that presents southern states and the District of Columbia, awards one winner in each platform. The Shield took home a 2022 Scroggins Award for its print newspaper after capturing its first ever Scroggins Award in 2021 for its newspaper website.

MacJ also competed very well in the SIPA visual and verbal contests, the results of which were announced at the convention, which returned in person to the University of South Carolina after being held virtually in 2021.

The complete list of MacJ winners is below.

SCROGGINS AWARD – Best of the South 

SIPA awards one publication this award in each category.

The Shield, 2022 Scroggins Award winner for newsprint publication

2022 SIPA’s Best Visual Contest winners

Best of Show=first place, Award of Merit=second place, Honorable Mention=third place

Advertising categories 

Senior ad

Award of Merit: Mia Gomez, “The 2022 Knight, pages 178-179”

Art, graphic and illustration categories

Infographic 

Honorable Mention: Anna McClellan, “The Principal Selection Process”

Editorial cartoon 

Best of Show: Amaya Collier, “Overworked” 

Strip cartoon 

Best of Show: Kai Kirkham, “Fish, Volume 69, No. 1”

Award of Merit: Kai Kirkham, “Fish, Volume 69, No. 3”

Honorable Mention: Kai Kirkham, “Fish, Volume 69, No. 2”

Broadcast categories

Short film 

Honorable Mention: Alice Scott and Lucy Marco, “Thank God It’s Friday”

Newsmagazine categories

Newsmagazine cover 

Award of Merit: Grace Nugent, “Volume 69, Number 2, What kind of big brother is Gaggle?”

Entertainment package

Award of Merit: Samantha Powers, “Celebrating ‘Black girl magic’”

Honorable Mention: Kennedy Weatherby, “There’s nothing like opening night”

Feature package 

Honorable Mention: Caroline Owen, “Not just a pipe dream”

Headline package 

Best of Show: Sophie Leung-Lieu. “Pandemic provides no rest for the weary”

In-depth cover story package 

Best of Show: Alice Scott, Lucy Marco, Lydia Reedy and Grace Nugent, “Saying goodbye to Savers”

Award of Merit: Samantha Powers, Kai Kirkham, Josie Bradsby, Lydia Reedy and Elisha Scott, “Close quarters”

Honorable Mention: Grace Nugent and Madelynn Niles, “Confessions of a teenage CEO”

News package
Award of Merit: Grace Nugent and Evie Barnard, “Latest Lone Star legislation”

Op/ed package

Best of Show: Lanie Sephri, “It’s time to write off annotation”

Honorable mention: Franice Wilhelm, Morgan Eye and Kai Kirkham, “Should hybrid learning return?”

Sports package:
Best of Show: Grace Nugent, “Volume 69, Issue 1 Sports Highlights”

Table of contents 

Best of Show: Madelynn Niles, “Volume 69, Issue 2 Table of contents”

Newsmagazine portfolio 

Best of Show: Grace Nugent 

Award of Merit: Kennedy Weatherby

Honorable Mention: Sophie Leung-Lieu

Online categories 

If you like Science

"Terraforming Mars” In Terraforming Mars, players act as a corporation attempting to make Mars habitable. The game is scientifically based, the objective being to increase oxygen, water and temperature levels as well as to perform tasks to advance humans’ role and understanding of space. Photo by Eliot Phillips accessed via Flickr, reposted here under a creative commons license.

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If you like Math

“Laser Chess” is like regular Chess, but with lasers. The laser beams bounce off of the mirrors on the pieces. According to Mr. Mills, the chess aspect of the game requires strategy and problem-solving skills, and the laser beams could help with understanding of angles. Photo by Newton Graffitti, accessed via Flickr, reposted here under a creative commons license.

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If you like English

“Paperback” “Paperback” is a drafting game where players draw letter cards and attempt to build words which they are scored on and paid for. With that money, players can purchase better letters to create more impressive words. In the game, players act as authors rushing to complete novels in different genres and earn money.

Learn more

If you like History

“Twilight Struggle” This is a two-player game where one player acts as the Soviet Union and the other is the United States. The game is played over several decades, starting after World War II and leading to the Cold War. Photo by Nacho Facello, accessed via Flickr, reposted here under a creative commons license.

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If you like Art

"The Gallerist" Playing a gallery owner, players search for new artists, buy and sell art and curate their galleries. As a result, galleries will gain respect and visitors, and gallerists can grow their fortunes. Photo by Volgar, accessed via Flickr, reposted here under a creative commons license.

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If you like Music

"The Lords of Rock" In a fight to rule the universe, gods come together to form rock bands. Players select gods to play different instruments from certain pantheons and play concerts to gain fans and, in turn, defeat the other bands.

Learn more

Computer graphics 

Best of Show: Ingrid Smith, “Game changers”

Award of Merit: Lucy Marco, “A Sharp soundtrack”

Honorable Mention: Logan Davis, “Allowing full capacity at AISD events is wrong”

Digital storytelling 

Best of Show: Alice Scott, “After year and a half of online school, young students face whole new normal back on campus”

Award of Merit: Alice Scott, Anna McClellan, Grace Nugent, Kate Boyle, “A COVID-19 year in the life of Mac”

Features package 

Honorable Mention: Lucy Marco and Alice Scott, “Thank God it’s Friday”

News package 

Award of Merit: Alice Scott, “Universities, school districts respond differently to threat of omicron”

Opinion package 

Award of Merit: Logan Davis, “Allowing full capacity at AISD events is wrong”

Photo gallery 

Honorable Mention: Josie Bradsby, Lydia Reedy and Kennedy Weatherby, “Class of ‘22 is on fire (figuratively)”

Sports package: 

Best of Show: Charlie Partheymuller, “With fourth-down stops, potent ground attack, Knights outlast Grizzlies in overtime to take bi-district title”

Award of Merit: Grace Nugent, “Taco Shack XX: the last chance”

Photography categories

Club

Best of Show: Sophie Kessler, “All smiles at UIL State” 

Environmental portrait

Best of Show: Amaya Collier, “Freshman Aubrey Mitchell”

First year student

Best of Show: Emma Hagood, “Our halls should be safe”

News

Award of Merit: Amaya Collier, “Standing up and walking out”

Honorable Mention: Evie Barnard, “Genevieve and Bri”

Sports reaction

Best in Show: Mia Gomez, “Revelling in a playoff victory” 

Student Life

Award of Merit: Meredith Grotevant, “A hair-raising solo” 

Photography portfolio
Best of Show: Kennedy Weatherby

Social media package
Best in show: Morgan Eye, Sophie Kessler and Logan Davis

Yearbook categories

Academic spread

Award of merit: Camille Wilson, Emii Anderson, Meredith Grotevant & Sol Ortiz, “C’est la tea”

Club spread

Best of Show: Elly Schottman, “Go Pink or go home”

Section divider

Honorable mention: Carly Johnson, “We’re back … finally”

2022 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest winners

Broadcast categories 

Feature script

Third place – Alice Scott & Lucy Marco, “Thank God it’s Friday” 

Human interest script

Second place – Samantha Powers, “Coffeehouse makes a comeback”

Sports script
Second place – Alice Scott, “Unmatched determination” or “Stepping up as leaders”

Editorial column

First place – Lanie Sepheri,  “It’s time to write off annotation”

Second place – Evelyn Griffin, “The ‘pick me’ girl persists”

Print categories

Staff editorial

First place – Samantha Powers and Tobin Wine, “SB 3 is re-whiting history”

Second Place – Ellen Fox, “We can handle the whole truth”

Entertainment/feature column

First place – Alice Scott,  “Alamo Drafthouse finds a way”

Third place – Samantha Powers, “Support Austin, not Amazon”

News story 

Third place – Samantha Powers & Evelyn Griffin,  “Close Quarters”

Personality profile 

First place – Madelynn Niles  “Recess back in session” or “Rock and roll (of film)”

Second place – Ellen Fox  “Inspired in 2005 to help parents succeed, Moore wrote guide to interracial adoption” 

Honorable mention – Amaya Collier & Ingrid Smith  “Martinez marches to Mac band”

Review

First place – Madelynn Niles, “Minari: an intimate family portrait”

Second place – Grace Nugent, “Wonder Woman 1984 bites the dust/Soul creates worlds of beautiful whimsy”

Sports story

First place – Grace Nugent, “Inside the line” or  “Vandament enjoys home-run season”

Third place – Kennedy Weatherby, “Twins on the three-point line”

Honorable mention – Francie Wilhelm, “Skating through struggles”

Sports story

First place – Marley Angle, “Straight shot to nationals” 

Online categories  

Alternative storytelling

Second place – Alice Scott, “Dear Mr. President and Madam Vice President”

Blog
First place – Madelynn Niles and Grace Nugent,  “N&N at the movies”

Second place – Lucy Marco,  “Lucy’s Laboratory”

Third place – Lydia Reedy & Josie Bradsby, “Flavor Profiles”

Column

First place – Alysa Spiro, “It’s High time to respect Jewish holidays” or “A cure for pandemic black boxes”

Second place – Alice Scott, “Beautiful blue eyes”

Features

Honorable mention: Caroline Owen,  “Not just a pipe dream”

Investigative story

Second place: Evie Barnard, “Q: Why is Fine Arts Academy coordinator job being cut? A: You better sit down for the answer. It’s complicated.” or “Despite standing to lose $34.76 million in state funding, district offers virtual learning to K-6 students”

News

First place – Lucy Marco and Grace Nugent, “Restrictive trans athlete bill likely to reach House floor”

Personality feature

First place – Lydia Reedy, “Mac Spanish teacher does her part to make COVID vaccine a reality”

Reviews

Third place – Madelynn Niles, “Zilker Park event sheds light on unusual holiday season”

Sports column

First place – Thomas Melina Raab, “Bill to ban transgender athletes creates problem where there was none”

Second place – Anna McClellan, “Why high school athletes should be allowed to play”

Sports feature 

First place – Samantha Powers, “Mac soph helps paint, raise Austin FC’s first tifo”

Second place – Alice Scott, “Stepping up as leaders”

Sports news 

Second place – Grace Nugent, “Taco Shack XX: the last chance,” “10 years later and the win streak rests on one game” 

Third place – Logan Davis & Elisha Scott, “Tennis team captures bi-district title”

Honorable mention – Thomas Melina Raab, “Riley ends stellar season with second-place state finish” or “Same place. Same two players. Different outcome.”

Photos cutline categories  

First place – Bella Russo, “Meet the multiple multiples of McCallum”

Second place – Alice Scott, “When setting a Pink Week fundraising record is secondary”

Third place – Ellen Fox, “Seniors make most of muddy mask-querade”

News cutline

First place – Elisha Scott, “Standing up and walking out”

Second place – Bo Witzel, “Women’s rally delivers an unmistakable message: repeal Senate Bill 8, vote its creators out of once”

Sports cutline

First place – Caleb Melville, “Seniors share their emotions as their high school football experience ends with Friday’s playoff loss”

Second place – Sophie Leung-Lieu, “Archery team surprises founder with national Coach of the Year Award for his work to build, sustain team”

Third place – Charlie Partheymuller, “Taco Shack Bowl returns to normal, Taco Shack trophy returns to Mac”

Yearbook categories

Alternative storytelling: 

First place – Zazie Bryant, “Quarantine must haves”

Second place – Hannah Zuniga, “An early challenge”

Third place – Lindsey Plotkin, “Sensational season comes to an emotional end”

Community copy

First place – Naomi Di-Capua, “For one Austin neighborhood, community during a pandemic began with a song … or two”

Second place – Josie Bradsby, “Building for now and the future”

Groups copy

Second place – Lindsey Plotkin, “An unpredictably perfect week”

People copy

First place – Madelynn Niles, “In making violin, junior double fine arts major strings together his love for art and music” or “Jacob’s ladder knows no limit”

Third place – Francie Wilhelm, “Finding fulfillment”

Sports copy

Second place – Lindsey Plotkin, “Major milestone”

Third place – Grace Nugent, “Almost had it”  “An upset for the ages”

Student life copy

First place – Lucy Marco, “Life as a teenage essential worker” 

Theme copy

First place – Lindsey Plotkin & Hannah Zuniga, “It’s not all blue”