Can you help bring back The Hastings Star? It is a newsletter published online and on paper twice per school year that showcases student work. This joyful publication has been on hiatus but we would love to see it brought back to life.
We are SEEKING ONE OR TWO VOLUNTEERS (Co-Chairs). The PTO Secretary will assist you with logistics; booking any in school space that you may need etc. Your VP and PTO Co-Presidents are also there to support you. Below you will find more details from when it was last in action. Deadlines and meet-up dates are yours to develop. You can even change the name!
Not only is this a fun and exciting project but seeing their work published is a great motivational tools for students. It makes them feel proud of themselves and what they have accomplished. The newsletter often serves as a motivational tool, publishing is a powerful motivator!
Committee Chair: OPEN
Committee Email Address: star@hastings-pto.org
Program Timeframe: Year-round
Read the March 2017 Edition of the Star Newsletter
Read the June 2017 Edition of the Star Newsletter
Read the April 2018 Edition of the Star Newsletter
Read the June 2018 Edition of the Star Newsletter (NEW)
WHAT TO SUBMIT:
Writing: includes opinion pieces, essays, newspaper articles about school events, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, jokes
Visual Art: includes photographs, paintings, drawings, comics
WHO CAN CONTRIBUTE?
Teachers:
Please feel free to submit class work. Did you work on a group map project? We can include photos and written descriptions of the final products (and student presenters). Did your students write poetry? We can probably publish all of their verse or include a hyperlink in the online newsletter for readers to access the entire class’ work. Whether you choose several samples or wish to submit every student’s effort, we can work with you to find a way to include and best represent every contribution.
Students:
We accept any school appropriate subject matter (and will work with you if we have any concerns about your submission). Please note that we do our best to share with you how the final product might look, but we don’t edit your work unless there are obvious errors. For example, a spelling error might be fixed if we are laying out a typed submission, but a handwritten submission will appear as it is.
HOW TO SUBMIT WORK:
We prefer digital submissions (Word documents, JPEGs, etc.) that can be emailed to star@hastings-pto.org. It’s best not to send Adobe PDFs.
You also can place your paper submission in the Star Box at the PTO table in the lobby.
For written pieces: depending on the number of submissions, we can probably fit up to 500 words in our printed edition and include links for the remainder of longer pieces to be read online
For artwork: it is best to use markers or other bold media that will show up digitally after scanning (crayon and colored pencil are too faint). Watercolors are fine if the colors are well saturated. Please limit the size of your work to letter size (8.5 inches by 11 inches) for proper scanning.
WHEN TO SUBMIT:
We have rolling submissions with the following deadlines:
- First issue: January 19, 2018
- Second issue: May 25, 2018
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Join us at the Star Club monthly meetings for inspiration and comradery. Bring a piece you are working on, or start something fresh. We might even have guest speakers to help spark some ideas. We meet in the Hastings Library from 3:20-4:20pm; please make sure the person picking you up is there by 4:00 or that you have a note with permission to leave on your own. We are meeting on the following dates this school year:
- November 8
- December 6
- January 3
- February 7
- March 7
- April 11
- May 2
Lastly, please check here if you’d like further inspiration and want to commit to submitting something! We will update this link on a monthly basis so please check back!
Hastings Star June 2018 Ideas
Photo Prompt:
The Mystery: In the mid-20th Century, a man named Harris Burdick visited a children’s book publisher with drawings for 14 stories he claims to have written. He agreed to return the following day with the stories themselves, but never returned. In the years since, many writers have guessed what those stories could have been about – would you like to give it a try? Here’s one of the illustrations with its accompanying caption:
The House on Maple Street
It was a perfect liftoff.
