New Date for Features Section Meeting

Features editor Linda Zhong was unable to come to her sectional meeting this morning due to Bus problems. We apologize for any inconvenience. She will be contacting writers who wrote features for Issue 3 sometime tonight/tomorrow. If you do not hear from her, be sure to contact her for more information.

She has rescheduled her meeting to after school Tomorrow, Dec. 22 in the Media Center. Please try to make it if she is the editor for your article.

Also, we are aware that this morning, there were many writers who came to their sectional meetings on time but their editors did not show or came too late. If you did come to your sectional meeting but missed your editor or your editor did not show up, please email Katherine so that you won't get a strike. Thanks!

Important: Final Issue 3 Information

UPDATED January Article Assignments -Please read and make sure it is absolutely correct. If something is wrong on this list or you still want to sign up for an article, email the DA gmail account.

Important Dates & Deadlines for Issue 3:
12/17 -All rough drafts due to SECTION EDITORS via email
12/17-12/21 -Sectional Meetings with Appropriate Section Editor (see schedule below or in document linked above)
12/22 -All final drafts due to SECTIONAL EDITORS via email
12/24 -All section articles due from sectional editors to COPY EDITORS via DA gmail acccount
12/30 -All final articles due to Mrs. Kupiec and layout for approval
Week of 1/18- Issue 3 is released!

Sectional Meeting Schedule:
-Thursday, 12/17-
Entertainment, 2:30PM in the Atrium

-Friday, 12/18-
Opinions, 7:00AM in Rm. 214

-Monday, 12/21-
Features, 7:00AM in the Media Center
Non-School News, 7:00AM in the Media Center
School News, 7:00AM in Rm. 214
Sports, 7:05AM in the Media Center

Tentative Article List: Please check!

Below is the link to the article topics for our third issue. Please ensure that all the information is correct.

If you did not sign up for an article topic yet, please email the DA gmail account by tomorrow, Wednesday, December 9th with the topic you wish to write about.

A new, updated version of this list, as well as a list of deadlines will be posted on Thursday after final article assignments have been received. We have MANY sections that need contributors -so feel free to sign up for more if you fee motivated.

January Article List (I tried to update the link so everyone has access to it...)

Remember that all rough drafts are due to section editors Thursday, December 17!!

Full Staff Meeting Next Monday

Next Monday, Dec. 7, we will have a full staff meeting to assign article topics for the next issue which will come out mid-January. Please note, we will only be meeting in the morning, at 7AM. There will be no meeting in the afternoon. This meeting is mandatory: all editors and staff members MUST attend.

The meeting will be held in Rm. 214. Deadlines and other details for the upcoming issue will follow. Keep checking the blog for updates.

Great Journalism Programs to Consider

Student Journalism and Publications is a huge field, and The Devil's Advocate is just a small part of it. Here, we have compiled a few great journalism summer programs that you might want to consider to expand and explore your interests. Most of these were either recommended by former/current Ridge teachers or students. Although summer is far off, many of these programs require teacher recommendations and other paperwork to fill out -so Thanksgiving Break is a great time to start looking through these and consider applying if you are interested.

Why consider participating in a journalism summer program?

• Looks great on your resume -colleges ask about summer experiences!
• Gives hands on, comprehensive experience that is unique to the normal school newspaper
• Experience a bit of college life, living in dorms and on a college campus
• Work with real journalists and college professors -this involves possible networking for jobs, college recommendation letters, etc.

Here are some we recommend:

Asian American Journalists Association -A six-day intensive program in Los Angeles

Northwestern Cherubs -A month-long program at Northwestern University

NYU's Urban Journalism Workshop -A two-week long program reporting in NYC.

A list to other programs

Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Programs

Note that although not all of these are local, some are free of charge or supply a generous amount of financial aid (both AAJA and Northwestern's programs do).

Issue 2 Topics and Sectional Meeting Schedule

Here is the link to the topic list for this week's issue. Please read it through to ensure accuracy. If you see any wrong information, please email the DA gmail account:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Af7ty3V4_vJWZGZ6eGZzcnBfNWhrcHFxdGY3&hl=en

Sectional Meetings:

Friday, Nov. 13:
School News, 7AM in Rm. 214
Opinions, 7:05AM in Rm. 214
Sports, 7:05AM in the Media Center
Non-School News, 2:30PM in the Media Center

Tuesday, Nov. 17:
Features, 7:10AM in Rm. 214
Entertainment, 2:30PM in the Atrium

All final drafts will be due to section editors on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Also, please do not forget about workshop week! All writers are required to attend two workshops. See blog post below for more details!

Workshop Week: Nov. 9-12

During the week of November 9-12, The Devil’s Advocate will be holding a variety of workshops to hone the staff’s journalism skills. All of these workshops will be moderated by editors to help strengthen your skills in a variety of fun ways.

All writers will be required to attend a minimum of TWO workshops of their choice. Everyone is encouraged to take advantage of all the workshops available.

Additionally, we will be having a session for one-on-one help with editors for article drafts before the rough draft deadline. This will NOT count as one of the two required workshops, but it is a great way to set aside time to work on articles and confront any difficulties you may have.

Below is the workshop schedule for next week. All workshops will be held in Rm. 214. Please contact the editor holding the workshop if you have any specific questions.



Monday, Nov. 9

Writing News Articles -7AM with Amy Chen & Sandra Korn
How to write using the inverted pyramid and other essential elements to News-style writing. Will also talk about objectivity and attributing sources.

Tuesday, Nov. 10

Writing and Working with Features -2:30PM with Linda Zhong
What a features article really is and the initiative it requires of readers. Will also examine structure and how to make Features more media-oriented.

Wednesday, Nov. 11

The Hook: Grabbing your readers' attention -7AM with Morgan Lochhead
How to write strong leads and maintain the audience's interest.

Interviewing & Quoting -2:30PM with Katherine Simeon
A look at what questions to ask, how to get the information you want out of people, and the proper courtesy when interviewing. Will also discuss how to integrate research into writing.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Help Session -7AM with section editors
With the assistance of the sectional editors, complete your article before this issue's deadline.

Writing Opinions Pieces -2:30PM with Allison Douglis
How to write a strong opinions piece and why the code of ethics is important. Note: This is mandatory for first-year staff members who wish to write opinions articles this year!!

Friday, Nov. 13 -Rough Drafts due!

Important Dates and Deadlines for Issue 2!

11/3- Full staff meeting, staff members are assigned article topics
11/13 -Rough drafts due to section editors via email
11/13-11/17 -Staff members attend sectional meetings with section editors for rough draft revisions (schedule will follow soon)
11/18 -Final drafts due to section editors
11/21 -Final drafts due to copy editors from section editors (via DA gmail account)
11/27 -All articles and art due to layout editors and Mrs. Kupiec for approval
12/7 -Layout sent to printer to be published!

Some tasks that need to be done

To all staff members:

Our Business Manager, Saniya Waghray, is looking for a few staff members to help her plan fundraisers and sell advertisements in order to raise money for the newspaper. Please email her at Pointe_princess18@yahoo.com if you are interested.

We are also looking for some staff members to help update our bulletin board (the one next to the side entrance of the cafeteria). We will soon be redecoration and including new features that we will update regularly. Please email the DA gmail account if you are interested in helping.

Both of these tasks are great ways to mingle with other staff members and show your commitment to the paper. Please seriously consider assisting us.

Issue 2 Staff Meeting

There will be a full staff meeting Tuesday, Nov. 3rd in Ms. Kupiec's room at both 7am and 2:30pm. Editors are expected to attend both the morning and afternoon sessions, writers may attend whichever time slot is most convenient.

Editor's Meeting

There will be an editor's meeting this Wednesday (10/28) after school in Ms. Kupiec's room. We will be discussing our notes from Monday's conference and article topics for the next issue, so come prepared!

Centerfold Meeting!

We will be holding a meeting for all those interested in contributing to our centerfold (Seen & Heard) this Wednesday, October 14 after school in 214. We're looking for staff writers to poll students, and staff/freelancer photography contributions. If you know anyone who would be interested in contributing photos, have them send their work to our gmail address.

November Issue Topic List!!

Attached to this post is our list of topics for the first issue. Please make sure you read this and notify us if there are any errors in your article topic, if you are missing, or if you want to write another article. Remember drafts are due to your section editor this Friday, Oct. 9!!

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Af7ty3V4_vJWZGZ6eGZzcnBfM3A4ZDU5Zmdy&hl=en

Article Topics -Important!

For some reason, when we entered names of writers and artists onto the electronic version of the topic list for the November Issue, the changes we made did not save. Therefore, we do not have a complete list of who is writing and producing art for each story topic.

Please, email Mrs. Kupiec at ckupiec@bernardsboe.com ASAP with your assignment for this issue. We need to have your topics on record!!

We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and we appreciate your timely cooperation.

Also, please note the change in one of our sectional meeting dates: Features will now only meet in the morning on Friday, Oct. 9, and the location has been changed to Mrs. Kupiec's room, Rm. 214.

Important Dates & Deadlines for Issue 1!

The following is the production timeline for our first issue. We will also post the complete list of articles on the blog as soon as we can.

10/9 –Rough drafts are due to sectional editors via email
10/9-10/13 –Staff members attend sectional meetings and meet with their editors for rough draft revisions (see below)
10/14 –Final drafts due to section editors via email
10/17 –Final drafts due to copy editors from section editors (via gmail account)
10/23 –All articles and art due to layout editors
10/26 -Yankee Candle Fundraising Materials are due!
First week of November: Issue is released!

Sectional Meeting Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 9
-School News, 7AM in Rm. 214
*EDIT* -Features, 7:05AM in Rm. 214

Monday, Oct. 12
-Sports, 7:05AM in Rm. 214

Tuesday, Oct. 13
-Opinions, 7AM in Rm. 214
-Entertainment, 2:30PM in Rm. 214

Please note that you MUST send your rough draft via email to your section editor on Friday, Oct. 9th, even if your sectional meeting is at a later date. Section editors must have all rough drafts in their inbox in a timely manner.

If you have any questions about meeting dates, deadlines, and your article topic, please consult your section editor.

First Official Staff Meeting: Sept. 30

We have finalized our staff list and are ready to staff off another great year!!

If you applied to our staff, you should be receiving an email sometime this week regarding whether your membership status. We want to thank everyone for applying, it was such a tough decision to make. To all who were accepted, congratulations, and to all who were rejected, we strongly encourage you to keep writing/drawing and reapply next year.

To all who were accepted and returning members: We will be having a MANDATORY full staff staff meeting on Wednesday, September 30th at 7AM and 2:30PM in Rm. 214. You only need to attend one of these meetings. Editors must attend both.

We will be planning for our first issue! See you there!

Applications and Self-Evaluations due Sept. 21!

Thank you everyone who attended our informational meetings on Tuesday. We had a great showing and we hope to have you on our staff this year!

Also, thank you to all of our returning members for their ongoing contributions to the newspaper.

Just a few reminders:
Students who want to join the staff this year must submit their application to Mrs. Kupiec in Room 214 or in her mailbox by September 21!
If you are applying to be part of the art section, please send your art sample via email to DevilsAdvocate.ridge@gmail.com or to Mrs. Kupiec at ckupiec@bernardsboe.com in JPEG format. Make sure to include your name and grade level in the email. This is the ONLY component of your application that should be sent separately from the application form.
Writing samples must be handed in with the application form attached.

Returning members: please hand in your self-evaluation forms to Mrs. Kupiec as well by September 21.

--------------------------------

If you were not able to attend our informational meeting or returning members meeting and are interested in being part of our staff, please come to Room 214 and obtain the proper materials from Mrs. Kupiec.

For convenience, we have also attached our membership application and self-evaluation to this post.

New Member Application:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Af7ty3V4_vJWZGZ6eGZzcnBfMGQzd3pxOGhu&hl=en

Returning Members Self-Evaluation:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Af7ty3V4_vJWZGZ6eGZzcnBfMmRmdjI3dmY3&hl=en

IMPORTANT MEETINGS: Starting a new year!

Hello everyone and welcome back to a new school year! We are extremely excited to work with everyone this year. We are trying to start production as soon as we can, so please pay attention to the following meeting dates:

Friday, September 11, 7:00AM -Editors' Meeting
All new and returning section, layout, and business editors must attend to start planning for this year. This meeting is for EDITORS ONLY.

Monday, September 14, 7:05AM -Returning Members' Meeting
All returning staff members must attend this meeting to catch up and start production on the first issue. This meeting is MANDATORY for both returning staff members and editors.

Tuesday, September 15, 7:00AM and 2:30PM -Interest Meeting
Any freshmen and upperclassmen who were NOT part of the staff in previous years and are interested in joining should attend ONE of these meetings to learn about our staff and how to apply. All editors must attend BOTH of these meetings.

Please email our gmail account or one of the copy editors if you have any questions.

End of the Year Announcements

Due to numerous delays and other technical difficulties, there will not be a new issue before school ends this year. We apologize for any inconvenience. We will be sifting through the articles that were submitted to see if they are appropriate for the publication in September.

It may seem early, but we will be preparing for the new school year soon. If you are an incoming freshman who did not sign our email list at Activities night or rising upperclassmen (grades 10-12) who is interested in joining The Devil's Advocate next year, please email the DA gmail account with your name, grade, and email so we can contact you when we begin our application process.

Be sure to check the blog regularly for updates throughout the summer. Good luck with final exams, have a great vacation, and keep writing!

Last Minute Events

5-6 staff members are needed to help out at Market Day tomorrow May 27, immediately after school. This is a bit last minute but it would be nice for some people to volunteer and for the newspaper to earn some money. Most juniors will be away for a physics field trip tomorrow so this is a great opportunity for underclassmen to show their commitment to our publication.

Also, tomorrow night is our end-of-the-year dinner at 6:30 pm. It will be held at the Time to Eat Diner in the Somerville Circle. The group splits the bill and we ask that you bring $25 so that you have enough to cover your share. This has always been a great way to get together and to really celebrate our hard-working staff.
Please tell Mrs. Kupiec if you are coming by 6:00 pm tonight.

Update: Last Issue Deadlines

To staff members: Rough drafts should have been submitted to your specific section editor last Friday, May 8.

If you have submitted your article and have not gotten a response from your section editor, you should be getting a response sometime this weekend. Please contact your section editor if you have any questions or concerns.

Final, revised drafts are due to your specific section editor by next Wednesday, May 20.

Please send your articles to your section editor, not to the DA email address. Mrs. Kupiec's oncourse has all the editors' email addresses: http://www.oncoursesystems.com/school/webpage.aspx?id=308196&xpage=487222

To section editors: final section articles are due to the copy editors Friday, May 22.

Newspaper Distribution Monday

Mrs. Kupiec needs 10 staff members to come after school on Monday, May 4 to put the new issue of the paper in teachers' mailboxes. Please email Mrs. Kupiec if you can make it.

Thank you!

Last issue of the year!

Article topics have been emailed out and our last issue of the year is under way!

The deadlines are as follows:
April 28- topic choices due
May 8- rough drafts and editor applications due

April Meeting Update

There will be an editor's meeting this Thursday April 9, and a full staff meeting April 14, in which we will be discussing a lot of new changes. Both will be held at 7am in Ms. Kupiec's room.

Market Day

This is a last minute reminder (Mrs. Kupiec sent out an email earlier this week) that tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25, we need staff members to help sort out products for Market Day in the cafeteria.

We really need 15-20 people. So please volunteer by emailing Mrs. Kupiec.

Group Yearbook Photo

Tomorrow, March 18, the yearbook staff will be taking group pictures of all the school organizations. The Devil's Advocate will be taking their picture at 9:20 AM in the new gym. All staff members are expected to be in the picture. Please pick up a pass to take this picture from Mrs. Kupiec's room (214) by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Please arrive promptly at 9:20. We do not want to cause any trouble for the yearbook staff and/or photographers.

Thank you.

Sectional Meetings

School News: 3/19, 7:05 am in Ms. Kupiec's room
Non-school news: 3/19, 7am in Ms. Kupiec's room

Opinions: 3/20 at 2:40pm in Ms. Kupiec's room

Sports: 3/23 at 7am in Ms. Kupiec's room
Features: 3/23, 7:15am in the Media Center
Entertainment: 3/23 at 7:15am in Ms. Kupiec's room

Please remember that these meetings are mandatory unless you have arranged otherwise with your section editor.

Finalized Topics for Issue 4

Stay tuned for our section edit meetings....

Sports
Basketball- Evan M
Fencing- Katherine S
Hockey- Gautham
Spring Track- Jeff P
Volleyball- Dan M
Baseball- Zach
Seniors in College Sports- Zach

School News
BOE Final Verdict- Jillian T
International Humanitarianism Club- Anshika
Guitar Club- Lauren Cargo
Seussical Preview- Corey Catanese
Forensics- Allison Douglas
Faster Than a Ridge Runner- Ally S
World Language Month- Sam D
Art Department- Linda Zhong
School Store- Katherine S
Teachers & Testing Abuse- Alex S and John W

Arts & Entertainment
Music Review- Lauren Cargo
Farmstead Arts Center- Morgan Lochhead

Features
Prom Dress Special- Charles G
Cost of Prom- Ava C
Student's opinions on Prom- Amanda Z

Non-school News
North Korea/UN Talks- Keysha
Hillary Clinton Update- Meghan O'S

Opinions
Students and Families in the Economy- Sandra K
Sports and Equal Funding- JiLon
Do we really need to get into the best colleges?- Sonya
Coaches and Commitment- Howard
BOE Changes- Susanna Vogel

Issue 3 Release!

The Devil's Advocate has finally published its third issue. They will be distributed to students during third period classes on Friday, March 13.

Staff Members and Readers - Please remind your third period teachers to give copies out to the students, and make sure your friends receive a copy as well.

Enjoy!

Issue 4 Deadlines

March 10- article sign-up meeting
March 19, 20, & 23: rough drafts due with individual section editors (meetings to
be posted at a later date)
March 25- final drafts due to section editors
March 29- section editors send articles to copy editors
April 2- copy editors send articles to layout editors and ms. kupiec
April 12- layout editors send final edition to ms. kupiec

UPDATE

Due to the HSPAs, we will be rescheduling our mandatory full staff meeting and article signups for 7am next Tuesday, March 10th.

Upcoming Meetings

Upcoming Meetings for Issue 4

Both to be held in Ms. Kupiec's room at 7:15am

Thursday, Feb. 26- Editor's meeting, editors be prepared with a rough draft of article ideas for your section

Tuesday, March 3- Full staff meeting, article signups

Welcome

Welcome to The Devil's Advocate's new communication system! From now on, check this blog regularly for updates on upcoming meetings, section deadlines, and fundraising events.

What's New.....

The Strike System

Due to necessary circumstances, we will now be imposing a strike system upon our staff and editors in order to ensure commitment and responsibility. For every missed meeting or deadline, you will receive one strike. If you receive two strikes within a year, you will be replaced.

Meetings

* There will be a mandatory staff meeting before school the first Tuesday of every month for the rest of the year. Attendance will be taken, and a strike system will be imposed. Editors will have additional bi-monthly meetings.

* All rough draft editing sessions will now be held arranged by individual sections to improve efficiency. Each section editor will establish the meeting time with their staff writers.

Article Signups

* There will now be a 5 article limit per section, to prevent uneven distribution (with the exception of school news and athletics, which will be granted more space due to our focus as a school paper)

* Staff members, once signed up for a particular article, will not be allowed to change topics. Please choose carefully.

* Deadlines will be strictly enforced with the strike system. However, if a writer is interested in covering a time-sensitive issue that must be written closer to or beyond the deadline, they may request an extension from their section editors one week in advance.



~If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section or contact us directly!~