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Middle School Literary Magazine

Receives "Highest Award" Rating

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Superintendent of Schools John Reed has said frequently that he is proud of

Newtown Middle School's writing program and the level of excellence achieved

by students in grades six through eight.

Recently, Dr Reed had an opportunity to show Board of Education members that

he is not alone in that opinion.

At their March 4 workshop, Dr Reed passed around the table a copy of the

middle school's student literary magazine, The Journal.

"I think you'll be pleased when you read what our student writers have

submitted," Dr Reed said, explaining that The Journal had received the

"Highest Award" rating in the 1996 Program to Recognize Excellence in Student

Literary Magazines.

The contest was the 13th annual event and was sponsored by the National

Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), based in Urbana, Ill.

Although this was not the first year that Newtown had entered the contest, it

was the first time the middle school students' efforts had earned the top

honor, he said.

The 66-page, illustrated and student-designed magazine was one of 45 highest

award winning entries - all of them having been submitted by middle schools

throughout the United States, Canada and from American Schools abroad, as

well.

The winning entries were selected from a total pool of 802 student magazines

submitted.

A press release from the NCTE program stated that magazines were judged on the

basis of quality of content, variety of writing, editing and proofreading

(maximum 80 points) and design/artistic aspects, front matter and pagination

(maximum 20 points).

The NCTE press release also named the following student editors who helped

compile the 1996 magazine: Christina Bennett, Katrina Buyers, Sue Kim and

Lydia Lanzetta. Faculty advisers named were Nancy Martin, Claudia Clancy and

Lorrie Arsenian.

The Journal will be sold this spring for approximately $4.