“Tones,” Tappan Zee High School’s literary magazine, was awarded an “Excellent” ranking in the 2021 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) Awards!
Student Editor Monica Rivera has been working on “Tones” since her freshman year and spearheaded the issue’s first-ever NCTE REALM submission this year. “Working on this magazine combines two disciplines that I like — art and writing–so I get to make something that’s a mix of both. I also get to work with teachers that I respect,” she said.
The NCTE publicly recognizes outstanding student-produced literary magazines each year as part of the REALM program, which reviews middle and high school, and college and university publications. Entries are reviewed by national judges and the submissions are judged based on a point system.
“Tones” members value having a publication that celebrates creative expression beyond academic assignments. “It’s nice to have an outlet for creativity that doesn’t have anywhere else to go. There aren’t many opportunities for poetry or essay contests in this area. Without that motivation to win, it’s hard to put that on paper,” said Assistant Student Editor Mickey Duggan.
Student Editor Ally Monaghan added, “‘Tones’ is about creating a bigger vision and it opens people’s eyes. You can share the best of your best without limitations. The arts don’t get a lot of attention and this highlights the fact that we have so many talented artists here.”
“We are very proud of the ‘Tones’ team for all of the hard work that they put into producing such a professional-looking publication to feature our students’ creativity. Giving students an opportunity to express themselves through art and writing is an important part of our curriculum and ‘Tones’ is a big part of that!” said TZHS Principal Rudy Arietta.
Congratulations to 2021 “Tones” Student Editors Monica Rivera, Zahra Schenck, Ally Monaghan, Mickey Duggan, and 2021 alumna Eujin Lee and Faculty Editors Donna Grasso and Sarah McMane for their exceptional work!
(Zahra and Eujin not pictured)
