Goodrich – A Goodrich High School magazine was recently named one of the top two in the state.
‘Reflections? is the school’s literary art magazine, a compilation of student-generated artwork, prose, photography, and poetry. The magazine staff invests hours in intense roundtable-style evaluations of artwork, which can turn heated, before beginning the labor-intense layout process.
‘It was a lot of work, a lot of long days,? said Reflections staffer Kristen Miner, ‘four nights a week near the end.?
The magazine was submitted to the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association for evaluation last fall.
The 10th literary magazine ever produced by Goodrich High School, Reflections received a score of 129 out of 140 possible points to earn the top-notch Spartan award during the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association’s spring conference.
‘It was amazing. We’re a small school, it’s a small publication,? said Laurel Griffiths, comparing Reflections to corporate-sponsored school magazines supported by decades of expertise.
Last October, the magazine earned national recognition with the prestigious Gold Medalist designation by New York’s Columbia University. The staff now receives fan mail from schools around the country, asking for a copy of Reflections or requesting Goodrich magazine staff to critique their own publications.
Staff members feel the use of the wider ‘landscape? format contributed to the magazine’s success, as well as the spiral binding.
‘In the future I’d like to see music incorporated into the book,? said Griffiths.
‘Each year we look for something new and fresh,? said magazine and yearbook adviser Kay Goodall.
‘Every staff builds on the previous staff’s,? said copy editor Griffiths.
While the staff of the Martianaire yearbook didn’t take home a Spartan award this year, they received a 93 percent ‘excellent? rating.
Out of nearly 450 yearbook pages judged by MIPA, seven yearbook staffers received recognition at the conference. Ashley Roehm took first place in academic writing, and earned an honorable mention in the academic spread category. Also earning honorable mention were Jessica Merchberger, sports writing; Ryan Mortimer, feature writing; Kelly Archibald, headline and caption writing; Gabe Yancho, caption writing and organization spread; Michelle Elliott, caption writing; and Lauren Trakul, index.