Twelve times during the school year all is quiet during the high school’s lunch break. This happens on the day when The Riptide comes out. Pretty much everyone, students and staff, have their noses buried in the high school’s award winning newspaper.
Vashon High School has published a school newspaper for decades. Back in the 1930s and 1940s it was know as the Hi Jinx. In the 1980s and 1990s it became The Clam. Since 1998 it has been published as The Riptide.
During the early years of publication VHS focused mostly on school events like sports, dances and club activities. More recently the view of the newspaper has widened to include local politics, world events that affect high schoolers and more controversial subject matter.
A dedicated staff of 25 to 35 spends countless hours, often on weekends, to produce quality journalism. Their goal is to create a newspaper that appeals primarily to Vashon High School students, but also speaks to the broader community of Vashon Island. All editorial decisions are made by the student editors of the publication. This responsibility truly gives the students ownership of the paper. They also provide their own financial support through the sale of advertising, just like the big time papers.