Independent School Periodicals - Independent School Magazines

2010 Circle of Excellence Awards Program

Judges Report

Winners:

Gold Awards

Discoveries

Cary Academy

Emma

Emma Willard School

Silver Awards

None

Bronze Awards

Bulletin: Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Magazine

Choate Rosemary Hall

Taft Bulletin

The Taft School

For a category that many of our judges were unfamiliar with-independent school periodicals-the most surprising thing about this year's entries was the depth of the field. Sure, there were a lot of entries that were closer to glorified yearbooks or turgid reports of gifts hiding under a pretty cover, but the more ambitious periodicals can hold their own with the majority of college or university magazines.

Culling out the more promising entries reduced the field to a dozen or so contenders. Among the non-medalists, a number of entries deserve singling out for particular bright spots. Hathaway Brown School's HB dissected "The Mad, Mad World of College Admissions" with an informative 8-page story in its Fall 2009 issue that was doubtless appreciated by parents (nifty cover, too). The Hill School's Hill Ties is a tightly designed magazine from cover-to-cover. And Northfield Mount Hermon's NMH Magazine offered an interesting range of attractively packaged features that fell just short of awards recognition this year.

Now, on to the winners. The magazines that rose above the pack to merit this year's honors presented a strong sense of purpose, planning, design, and execution.

Emma, the bulletin of the Emma Willard School, moved to the front of the class and wins Gold Medal status. Two years into its new format, Emma continues to raise the bar for what an independent school publication can be, with thought-provoking stories, clean and handsome design, and a sure editorial voice. Editor Rachel Morton and her design team also create a warm, inviting feel, and the use of 100% recycled paper enhances the finished product.

If Emma is the magazine to beat, we found a very different entry that on its own merits finished in a dead heat on our polling. The judges were impressed enough by Discoveries: an inside look at Cary Academy to award it a Gold Medal as well. The 10-by-10 format of the publication leapt out of the stack as fresh and imaginative, and while the content was a bit more boilerplate for a secondary school, the presentation was as good as any in the category. (We liked the "green" feel, too.) Well done.

Two additional entries were awarded Bronze Medals. Bulletin, the Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Magazine, offered a pleasing mix of new and archival photography, with a clean, modern design and a depth and breadth of content. One of the best pieces in any magazine we read was an "End Note" published in the Fall 2009 issue by a 1991 alumnus and survivor of traumatic brain injury. An unforgettable story.

The second Bronze Medal was awarded to Taft Bulletin, the Taft School's quarterly magazine. Taft offered one of the more intriguing mixes of stories of all the entrants, from a Q&A about Julia Child (by the co-author of her posthumously published memoir) to a cross-country pictorial of small-town America. A solid read.

There were less than a handful of entries in the Tabloids and Newsletters and online categories, and the judges chose not to award any medals.