A proud moment for our school, and an even prouder one for last year’s Lions Roar Now staff! The Lions Roar Now news website has officially earned the prestigious All-Colorado Award!
This recognition is especially powerful because just a year ago, the program was on the verge of being shut down due to low enrollment. Instead of giving in, the small but determined staff rose to the challenge, proving that their voices and their words carry weight. Their writing, creativity, and unwavering dedication not only kept the program alive but also made it shine across the state.
This award isn’t just a win for the news staff, it’s a statement. Even a small team can make a big roar.
News Production advisor Kristen Chase holds a special place in her heart for this program. She had experience with high school news production when she was a student, and she’s so excited and proud of the staff for all their hard work. This is Chase’s 18th year as Newspaper advisor at Littleton High School.
“I think that journalism is so critical for our voices in America, and when we get to produce it and we do it with fidelity it helps create a more democratic society, and that’s what I believe for teaching my students, both in my newspaper but also the students in Littleton High School that read the stories.” Chase says.
Principal Thomas Velasquez added, “I am super proud of our students for getting this remarkable achievement and I’m also super proud of Mrs. Chase for supporting you guys in accomplishing this.”
The staff returning from last year reflect on what this means.
“I feel very proud of us. I didn’t know about this award until I joined News Production. Being able to be in that little group that succeeds in the criteria that gets you the award is a really cool experience,” said Ava Barbour.
“We feel happy [for the All-Colorado award] because last year we were in danger to lose the program, and so this shows that we got this and that we’re capable of achieving great things,” said editor Fabiana Hervas Vargas.
“I love love writing, it’s one of my passions and I want to make it my future career,” said editor Ella Chase.
“It’s really a big deal to me, and I’m really proud of our staff to kind of rise up from possibly not having this class to getting one of the best awards, and it just shows the quality and talent of our staff even though we are smaller.” continued E Chase.
“It feels great, I was only here for a semester, but at the same time I did produce a lot of stories,” said editor Corrina Gapter, specifically talking about sports articles.
“It was honestly surreal when we had that brought up to us. We have unfortunately not gotten many of those awards in the past, so being able to be here for one of those awards it was a blessing. It was definitely a nice treat, and it just shows the hard work we put into Lions Roar Now and the hard work we are going to continue putting into Lions Roar Now.” said editor Ryan Alred.
“The power of the press is such a real thing. It’s in our Constitution and it’s in one of our very first things, the Bill of Rights,” said editor-in-chief Mo Pannier.
“I was so excited to hear that we got the award, because it’s just so cool to be editor-in-chief when we got it. It was the work of a community who did have some hardship the year before, and we worked together and pushed through it, and we got All-Colorado, and I think that it’s such a strong and powerful moment for us as a team of writers, editors, students, and just a proud moment for LHS, too.” continued Pannier.
The program has leveled up, uniting into one powerful, unified News Production! Even better, Spanish articles are officially back, opening the door to more voices, perspectives, and creativity. For The Lions Roar Now, this is a huge step forward, expanding the scope of ideas, opinions, and stories we can share with our school community.
“We have many people in our school that speak Spanish. They didn’t have access to Lions Roar Now because most of them don’t speak English. They need to know more about what’s happening in the school.” said Hervas Vargas.
“I’m really proud of the work we are doing with our Unified and Spanish programs. It’s really something you know the school needs,” said E Chase.
“Adding the Unified Program into the Newspaper is something that I am really proud of, because now we have representation of students of all abilities. Last year it was Shelby and Claire and Lily. Having Claire and Shelby have almost more stories than students who were top honors students was really exciting,” said K Chase.
“I also really liked how we had a lot more Spanish articles. While we can keep improving on that, I think getting that voice into the Newspaper again, we had it in the past but it had kind of gone away, then reviving it was another really proud moment.” continued K Chase.
The Lions Roar Now has proven its strength, resilience, and heart. From nearly losing the class to winning statewide recognition and expanding into new horizons, this is only the beginning. The roar is louder than ever.
