CLICK HERE for official rules

INSTRUCTIONS:

• The size of each page will be 8 1/2 x 11. Please use your available desktop software to create your layout.
• Design the cover. Include a nameplate of your own design. Nameplate font and size is up to you. Include current volume, issue number and date. Use any of the provided photos, and any graphic or text of your construction that you think will be effective for the newsmagazine cover.
• Design the centerspread, using pictures, illustrations or infographics. Decide which stories are most relevant and include them. Use any graphic element you wish, as long as it is of your own construction.
• You may enlarge, crop, or reduce photos. You may use as many or as few as you choose.
• DO NOT include your name or your school name on your entry.
• You will be judged only on the layout elements, but please fill your copy blocks with ill text, after indicating which story you are using in each copy block. Feel free to include all or to edit some of the copy from the story ideas.
• Write and place headlines directly into the layout. Write and place captions, pulled quotes, subheads or other copy of this type. Use any style, font, and size that you deem appropriate.
• Remember that your work is being evaluated on design and layout. Your writing will not be evaluated, but please use correct spelling in elements of any size. Body copy blocks may incorporate fill text for design effect.
• Photos, graphics, and illustrations may bleed off the page, but copy and captions should remain within the grid lines that you’ve created.

SCHOOL INFORMATION:

Julian Union High School
PO Box 714
Julian, CA 92036
760-436-1234
Mascot: Eagle
Colors: Red and Gold
School Population: 350
Name of Publication: The Flight
Date of Publication: April 17, 2008
Volume of Publication: 61
Issue Number: 5

ASSIGNMENT:

• In black-and-white or color, design a front cover and a double-page centerspread [DPS pages 08-09] for a newsmagazine using any grid or column plan you like.
• Use any of the included photos, stories, and information available. Use only the information provided. Do not embellish with outside sources or photographs. Any infographics or illustrations must be of your own construction. Other than provided elements, do all of your own work on every aspect of this layout.
• Write headlines and captions.
• In your story copy blocks, for which you may use fill text, be sure that it is clear which story concepts are placed on the DPS.
• You may alter any provided photos to meet your design needs.
• You may use any or all of the provided photos.
• Print each page separately and bring to the carry-in contest. Judges will make allowances for printer limitations. Do not mount the pages.

SETTING FOR THE ASSIGNMENT:

The Julian Union High School District board of directors is alarmed at student nutritional habits. Bolstered by Gov. Schwartenegger’s ban on soda sales in all schools and the FFA’s presentation about the Farm to School program, they are determined to mandate healthy school meals for students. They face some obstacles. The school has open campus, and students can leave to buy junk food. Meanwhile, the nutrition and safety of government-provided and District purchased school lunch items has been called into question.

SIZE SPECIFICATIONS:

Page size for the cover/front page is 8 1/2 by 11 inches. The centerspread measures 17 by 11 inches. Print the centerspread (08-09) as two separate 8 1/2 by 11 inch pages.

HINTS:

• Create a clean layout.
• Determine the importance of stories and photos and position them accordingly.
• Have a focal point.
• Use imaginative and effective graphic design.
• Place elements effectively.
• Use appropriate sizes for all text elments.
• Be creative, but keep in mind the overall visual effect must lead to readability of the content.
• Edit existing text if you want shorter copy and paragraphs. Expand existing text with fill text if your story layout dictates a longer piece.

AVAILABLE STORIES:

BEEF RECALL — When the cow went down in the slaughterhouse pen, the company veterinarian was not notified. Instead, workers poked and prodded the animal, then forklifted the beast up the ramp onto the conveyer belt toward its hamburger destiny.
An undercover recording of the operation at Hallmark /Westland meat company in Chino led to the largest beef recall in the nation’s history. Companies are prohibited from processing the meat from downer animals, as they are most likely to be infected with diseases harmful to humans. “Every FFA student knows the rules, and this com­pany knew tham, too,” said Bruce White, JUHS chapter president and state champion meat judger. “They put profit over the safety of Americans.”
Part of the recalled beef had already made it onto the menus of California’s schools. Every school district in the state received a shipment of this beef. “We esti­mate that most of it has already been cooked up for school kids,” said Department of Education’s school nutrition director Sam Hammer.
Julian Union High School serves beef on its lunch menu every day. Monday’s cheeseburgers, Tuesday’s chili cheese baked potatoes, Wednesday’s tacos, Thursday’s spaghetti and meatballs, and Friday’s pizza all contain some hamburger product. According to school lunch Director Pam Cooksey, the school is looking to diversify its menu with other safe and healthy options for students. “Hamburger is inexpensive, so it has always been an attractive product for schools. When I saw that recording on the news, I knew we were going to have to come up with something more,” said Cooksey.
Students have responded to the meat recall in predictable ways. Sophomore Ann Winston said, “It’s enough to make you become a vegetarian.”
On March 3, two remaining cases of recalled beef from the JUHS kitchen freezer were hauled to the county dump site and buried. It has been replaced by hamburger product from a different source.

BANNED PRODUCTS — Students line up in front of Yancey’s Mini-Mart to get to the soda vending machine. For $2, they can supplement their daily sugar and caffeine intake with a product now banned from California school vending machines. “If we can’t get it at school, we’ll come here before classes start and at lunch,” said sophomore Heather Short. “They are treating us like children. It’s ridiculous.”
Although many student share Heather’s opinion, a large percentage of the student body thinks the ban is fine. “When Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the bill, I was skeptical, too,” said student body President Suze Cheever. “We have lost some income for student activities, but now I’m happy that the school board is taking more steps to offer healthy and safe food at school.”
The Julian Union High School school board has asked School Lunch Director Pam Cooksey to prepare a nutritional analysis of the foods served for lunch and breakfast from the cafeteria. Any changes will go into effect during the 2008-09 school year.
“We need to take a closer look at what we’re feeding these kids to help them make it through their academic day and sports and other activities. We are willing to spend more on the nutrition program because it affects student achievement,” said board Vice President Sidney Waters.
“It’s hard to predict how students will respond to a more nutritious menu,” said cafeteria cook Fran Detering. For now, though, lots of students are heading off campus for their fast-food sandwiches and their daily soda fix.

FARM TO SCHOOL — Bright green lettuce from Sally Stinson’s farm. Speckled red apples from Detering’s Orchard down the road. Ripe tomatoes and green pepppers from the acreage of Jer­emy Strong’s grandpa. The salad bar in the JUHS cafeteria suddenly got a lot fresher.
Due to the work of FFA adviser Margery Frost and her chapter of 40 JUHS students, the board of directors agreed on Feb. 12 to a one year trial partnership with the Farm to School program. Farm to School has 9,100 schools involved nationwide. There are 85 California schools in the program. “This will benefit local farmers and provide fresher nutrition for our students,” said Ms. Frost.
While the cost of fresh produce is typically higher, the program offers free delivery within a 100-mile radius. “The only cost is the fresh produce. That’s very attractive,” said Pam Cooksey, JUHS school lunch director.
“Districts forge their own relationships with local farmers,” said Sam Hammer, school nutrition manager for California’s Department of Education. “Some schools just get seasonal produce, while others truck in salad throughout the year.”
FFA has set the groundwork for the new program, working for the past six months contacting local farmers and communicating with the state’s Department of Education and national Farm to School representatives. The FFA will showcase their effort at the national convention in Louisville next fall. “This has been a great experience for our chapter. We’ll be getting our first shipments right after Spring Break,”said chapter Vice President Sandra O’Connor. “Students we’ve talked to seem excited to have fresher local food to eat.”

EXTRA DATA

2007 Survey: Nation’s Favorite School Lunch from School Nutrition Association

Nutritional analysis from Burger King and nutritiondata.com

EXTRA DATA HINTS:Use none, some, or all of the extra data. You may organize it into infographics or use it otherwise to enhance your layout.. Do not use it as a story. Be sure to somehow credit the source of the information..

PHOTOS

Below is a selection of photographs which you may include with your stories. The photos are numbered, and caption information is included to the right. Crop, size, and place them as you wish. You may also use a Photoshop-type program to alter any of the photos, but be prepared to discuss how you did it during your contest time in Anaheim. Please write and place captions in the most effective and readable manner. If you use a photo as a photo illustration( cover, in an infographic, etc), you do not have to include a caption. You are being judged on your layout, not your writing, but please attempt to use your best spelling and Associated Press style writing.

CLICK on the photo to enlarge it. Then download them for use on your page. They are provided at low-resolution for efficiency in downloading. You may enlarge them beyond the resolution provided.

1 FFA Adviser Margery Frost and her students celebrate after their successful presentation to the JUHS board of directors. Their Farm to School proposal was met with positive action.. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.	2 FFA members Lupe Garcia, Anna Princeton, Royce Treeman, and Greg Sefert prepare to serve some local fare to farmers invited to the FFA Banquet. More than 20 local farmers who attended the banquet have agreed to participate in the District’s Farm to School program that begins in April. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.	3 Cafeteria chips might have an expiration date sooner than expected. The District’s new emphasis on serving only healthy foods to students will discourage such snack offerings by the school’s food service after this year. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.
4 Sam Winesap sucks down a Mountain Dew filled with caffiene and high fructose corn syrup. Because he bought it off campus, it is still legal at Julian Union High School. The board of directors is considering action that will pull Sam into compliance with the intention of Governor Schwartzenegger’s bill banning soda from California school campuses	5 Cases of possibly contaminated beef from a Chino slaughterhouse are held in the kitchen’s freezer awaiting their dispatch orders. The District received the beef through the USDA School Lunch program, like thousands of other districts in the state. The slaughterhouse operation has since been shut down. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.	6 Lunch lady Fran Detering selects some snack foods from the cooler to put out for student break time. Until the District increases the budget for the purchase of healthier food, she needs to select from the options pro- vided by the USDA’s subsidized food program and inexpensive products from commercial vendors. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.
7 Heather Short, sophomore, munches on her high fat and sugar Arby’s lunch in her social studies class- room. Heather’s eating habits create part of the board’s concerns. They are considering closing the campus to encourage students like Heather to choose from the school’s healthier offerings. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.	8 National champion meat judge and local FFA chapter president Bruce White carefully evaluates the pork leg samples in his contest. Bruce is an outspoken critic of the slaughterhouse practices that led to the FDA recall of beef from a big California producer. “When we start buying our beef locally, it will be safe for our students,” said Bruce. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.	9 Cafeteria selections of minimal nutritional value are on the way out, if Julian Union High School District board of directors has its say. These products have been found to be high in sugar and fat. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.
10 Students work their way through the lunch line in the JUHS cafeteria. Many opt for less-than-nutritious foods that they can carry out of the building and consume quickly while socializing during the short time at lunch. CLICK on the image to download a larger copy.