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Harvey Middle School's literary magazine Equinox has been recognized as a DISTINGUISHED magazine by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in the 2024 Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) Contest.

Schools in 46 states and five countries nominated 422 student magazines. Magazines from middle school, high school, and higher education were welcomed for the 2024 contest.

The Spring 2024 issue of Equinox features 38 pieces of student writing and 24 student photographs.

"This publication highlights our students in grades 6-8 and our creative spirit," shared faculty advisor Christina Alexander. "Lilah Groff, our editor last year when she was in eighth grade, has worked on this magazine since she was in sixth grade and made outstanding contributions to our Publications class," Mrs. Alexander said.

"It feels tremendously rewarding to have the magazine receive this recognition," said Lilah Groff, now a ninth grader at Harvey. "The staff and I worked very hard on this magazine and this honor makes me truly believe that we accomplished something. Looking back at the time we spent on it, all the ideas and input everyone had added up to something special," Lilah said.

Lilah learned a lot serving as the editor of Equinox, from leadership to collaboration, to having a game plan and working with others to achieve that goal. Working on the magazine honed her design skills and taught her how important the page-to-page flow of a magazine is for the reader.

Lilah had only great things to say about her mentor, Mrs. Alexander. "Mrs. Alexander does a remarkable job of supporting students working on Equinox," Lilah shared. "She is so upbeat and positive, which gave us confidence in ourselves. She allowed us to explore and express our own ideas, but was there if we needed anything and offered constructive criticism. As students, we had the opportunity to work on all facets of the magazine so we actually got to understand the entire process," she said.

Mrs. Alexander is happy to see the Middle School literary magazine flourishing to showcase the amazing achievements of Harvey middle schoolers.

"A little over 10 years ago, students, along with their English teacher Ms. Lindquist, came up with the idea to create a literary magazine that would highlight the art and writing of middle school students at The Harvey School," said Mrs. Alexander. "They called this magazine Equinox. Over the years, different students have taken on the role of editor, a job requiring both editing and layout skills. Every literary magazine published is a great accomplishment and earning Distinguished recognition from the National Council of Teachers of English is a wonderful award honoring this achievement. Lilah is proof that hard work and dedication really do pay off with amazing results," Mrs. Alexander said.

The REALM program publicly recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing. Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, Canada, and American schools abroad are eligible to nominate magazines.

 

To read the spring 2024 issue of Equinox, click here.