How to break into publishing

Most students who read the movie pages in class would find them

quickly confiscated by the teacher. In Shelley Lang’s publications

class at TeWinkle Middle School, those colorful ads are part of the

curriculum.

The class, newly formed this fall, plans to produce the school’s

yearbook, newspaper and parent newsletter over the course of the

year. Last week, Lange’s seventh- and eighth-grade students worked on

creating headings for the yearbook. To help the process, each of them

brought the entertainment sections from the morning newspapers.

“Everyone says it’s a comedy that really rocks,” Lang told the

class, pointing to the ad for “The Man,” a comedy starring Samuel L.

Jackson and Eugene Levy. “Well, maybe it’s a cafeteria that really

rocks.”

As the students burrowed through the movie sections, they wrote

down ideas for captions and drew logos on sheets of paper. Some of

the themes came easily: One portion of this year’s yearbook presents

“Academy Awards” for students with the best eyes, best smile and best

sense of humor. On their charts, many students penciled in tiny Oscar

statuettes.

Lang’s class marks a new wave of publications at TeWinkle, which

has been without a newspaper for 10 years and only published one

newsletter last year. An after-school club put together the yearbook

this spring, using cut-and-paste methods and photographing the

layouts. This year’s edition will be more polished, produced

digitally in the school’s computer lab.

The three publications will offer a flurry of opportunities for

aspiring writers, artists and editors. Lauren Castillo, 11, said she

wanted to write an advice column. Andrew Albers, 12, said he hoped to

snare a sportswriting job for the school paper.

“When I read a newspaper, I always read the sports section, so I’d

like to do the athletic section,” he said.

Among the other sections outlined for the yearbook are pages for

clubs and activities, a Halloween party spread, and baby pictures for

departing eighth-graders.

Most of the 30-plus students in the class have no publication

experience.

“I got inspired because it was the first time in 10 years they’ve done it [the newspaper],” said Juan Rivera, 12, who wants to be a

photographer. “I wanted to see if it was interesting or not, and I

figured out it was.”

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot

education writer Michael Miller visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about his experience.