HomeMy Public PortalAbout2023 1114 Spartan Shield & Valenian DayPROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, The Spartan Shield, the Pleasant Valley High School student -run, self -funded newspaper,
produces 6-7 print editions each year and adds in excess of 25 stories to their news site each week, and
has been named a School Newspapers Online (SNO) Distinguished Site for the past three years; and,
WHEREAS, The Valenian, the Pleasant Valley High School student -run yearbook, currently in the process
of producing its sixty-fourth volume, has received Class C Yearbook of the Year for the past four years
and has been inducted into the Walsworth Gallery of Excellence for the past two years; and,
WHEREAS, past editors -in -chief of both The Spartan Shield and The Valenian have gone on to thrive in in
the field of journalism; last year's editor is a student at Columbia, the 2022 editor is is a student at
Stanford, and the 2021 editor is a student at Northwestern responsible for breaking the story about
hazing within the football program that became a national headline; and,
WHEREAS, Maureen Dyer, a teacher at Pleasant Valley High School, has been the faculty advisor for both
The Spartan Shield and The Valenian for the past eleven years; and,
WHEREAS, each spring, high schools across Iowa submit their best work to the Iowa High School Press
Association (IHSPA), and from that work, the IHSPA awards individuals and names the finalists for News
Team of the Year and Yearbook of the Year; and, Pleasant Valley High School was named a finalist in both
categories; and,
WHEREAS, at the annual state journalism conference, attended by almost 900 students at the University
of Iowa on October 19, 2023, Pleasant Valley High School was named the All Iowa News Team of the
Year and the Class C Yearbook of the Year for 2023; this is the second time in school history that both
The Spartan Shield and The Valenian received both awards in the same year; the first was in 2021.
THEREFORE, be it resolved that 1, Anthony Heddlesten, Mayor of the City of Riverdale, Iowa, do hereby
proclaim November 14, 2023 as
THE M.E;LD ei THE AMLE_NI.A. it DAY
in Riverdale, and encourage staff, residents, and visitors to join me in congratulating The Spartan Shield
and The Valenian staff for their commitment to excellence.
[seal] Anthony Heddlesten, Mayor
City of Riverdale, Iowa