Laguna Blanca School seniors and student journalists Elliot Serbin, Arabella Watters and Fletcher Sipple have won Gold Circle Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

There were 9,460 entries submitted from student journalists in high school and college.

“This is the first time that Laguna student journalists have won the Gold Circle Award for individual works,” journalism instructor and newspaper adviser Trish McHale said.

Serbin won for his Photography Portfolio, Watters won for her Op-Ed or News Analysis Page Design Portfolio and Sipple for his Sports Page Design for the article “Laguna’s Five Top Athletes,” which appeared in the senior issue of The Fourth Estate.

Gold Circle Awards are offered to recognize superior work by individual student journalists and sometimes as an entire staff working with either print or online media. These media are published in schools or colleges throughout the United States and in overseas schools following an American plan of education.

Judges are experienced journalists and educators familiar with the context surrounding student journalism as produced in schools and colleges. In recent years, more than 13,000 entries have been submitted for this annual competition, and about 1,000 awards were given in the various categories.

Awards are announced and presented at the association’s annual convention in March in New York City.

Gold Circle Awards were first given in 1984, but follow a long tradition of CSPA awards for individual achievement by student editors.

— Tara Broucqsault is the director of communications for Laguna Blanca School.