Join fellow student journalists, advisers and journalism professionals for the annual FSPA convention. Bring your ideas, enthusiasm, technology and friends to the Hyatt Regency Tampa and conquer the jungle.

Convention Central is the place to go for the latest on the 2010 convention. Advisers should follow the adviser registration guide inside Convention Central for a quick and easy way to register their publications for convention.

Instead of receiving an extensive pre-convention booklet as in past years, all convention materials will be posted on the web.

Dear advisers:
Have you ever thought about pursuing JEA certification? The national Journalism Education Association recognizes Certified and Master journalism educators. Teachers can earn this certification through completion of a test typically offered at the national journalism conventions. However, if we can find at least 5 teachers interested, we can offer the tests at the FSPA convention April 29-May 1 in Tampa.

If you are interested, please let FSPA President Joe Humphrey know in the next few weeks via e-mai l. Mark Newton of the JEA Certification Commission said Florida advisers planning to take the test here in Tampa can have until mid-March to submit their applications to the JEA office, but you should also let Mr. Humphrey know so we can gauge interest in offering the test here in Florida.

Advisers who want hands-on instruction in how to take their school media online are invited to apply for a free workshop at The Poynter Institute this summer. Funded by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, the weekend of intensive training is designed to equip teachers with the skills, confidence and inspiration to help students create a news Web site that incorporates words, images, video and social media.

The workshop will be June 25-27, beginning Friday evening and ending Sunday afternoon. Participants are responsible for their travel to St. Petersburg and their lodging expenses (which are free if you sleep at home!).

For details and to apply, go to www.poynter .org/adviserworkshop.

Evaluation forms are now available for Individual Contests. These entries must be postmarked by Jan. 26, 2010. Forms postmarked Jan. 27-28 will incur a late fee of $20. Evaluations postmarked after Jan. 28 will NOT be accepted. If you have any questions about the evaluations process, please contact our evaluations coordinator, Jane Robbins, at Jprob212@aol.com.

FSPA provides a yearly evaluation service for newspapers, newsmagazines, yearbooks, magazines and broadcast programs. The focus of the evaluation service is to provide feedback that will enable students to improve their publications and broadcast programs.

For more information, see our Evaluation Services page.

Write Better. Find Your Voice. Learn from the Pros. Come to the Florida High School Writers Workshop on Saturday, March 13. It's a day for students (and their teachers) interested in writing, journalism and telling stories that matter.

At Poynter, a school for journalists, you'll learn from Poynter faculty who teach pros from around the world and from local journalists and other writers who share their knowledge and real-world experience.

Cost: $35 (before March. 6, $40 after that date). Includes lunch. Financial aid available. For more information, see the re gistration flier.

Scholarship applications for the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications are now available. The Knight Division for Scholarships, Career Services and Multicultural Affairs awards approximately $250,000 in scholarships and $30,000 in assistantships. More than 150 students will receive awards ranging from $350 to $3,000.

Freshmen are eligible to apply for scholarships after applying for admission to UF and before they have been notified of their admission status. Students complete one application to be considered for all scholarships and assistantships. The deadline for submitting an application is March 15, 2010.

For more information, please visit the scholarship page here.