Thumbs up for mags

SCHOOL MAG COMPETITION:The standard of school mags just keeps getting better, if the entries to this year's competition are anything to go by

LORETO Clonmel were the big winners at this year's Irish TimesSchool Magazine awards, taking away the overall senior magazine prize, best senior design, and best senior writing. Hot on their heels was Coláiste an Phiarsigh, Glanmire, Co Cork, the stand-out winners in the Junior category.

The ceremony was held in the Science Gallery, Dublin, on Monday May 10th.

Today, we publish a selection of some of the best writing in this year’s competition.

WRITING COMMENDATION

Foreign Exchangeby Rebecca Lyons

Publication: Aperture, Loreto Clonmel, Tipperary

Nathalie has a fantastic laugh. If I could bottle it and sell it to people who are really down, let’s just say there would be no more need for anti-depressants. Her laugh is singularly one of the best I’ve ever heard. It’s loud and exuberant and comes from her whole body. Every word she speaks seems threaded with that same laughter, and it often bubbles out at the end of her sentences, like a full stop, only happier. She smiles almost constantly and comes equipped with a positively evil sense of humour.

Eventually, as with all good things, her time with us came to an end and she flew back home. I miss her, even now. She brought with her a gentle sense of optimism which I didn’t realise was lacking, or even needed, until she arrived. It challenged my ingrained Irish mentality of being slightly darker, just a little more cynical than necessary, and as a result I started to see not all was boring and wet and gloomy, to be suffered through rather than enjoyed.

WRITING COMMENDATION

The Wheels Within Wheels, on the Busby Eugene Egan

Publication:

Vox, Blackrock College, Dublin

The chadult is something of a modern phenomenon. From the dawn of man till about the 1950s there was an adult, and there was a child. Then along came the “teenager” to shake things up with their radical “pour me another milkshake, Daddio” attitude. But, in the last few years, the teenager has been further categorised into the “tween” from the ages of 11-14, the supposedly endearing term “young adult” till the age of 17, and, from the age of 18 to 20, you’re considered to either be an “overgrown child” or an “underdeveloped adult”. In either case no one takes you seriously.

The public transport companies creating the chadult splits things up even more, needlessly subdividing the word “teenager” into a total of four composite parts. We asked Dublin Bus why they felt the need to draw yet another circle on the teenager Venn diagram. That is to say, why do we pay 65c at the age of 15, and then a minimum of €1.15 at 16? We were met with a stiff, withdrawn response which gave us the feeling we might have offended them in some way: “The definition of a student for the purpose of this fare is at the discretion of the company, and it is not bound by the legal definition of a child, and this definition is not included in any legislation binding fares.”

We’re not trying to offend them, of course. We simply wanted to know the reason we chadults are expected to pay more. Because, you have to understand, very little changes between the ages of 15 and 16. The vast majority of 16-year-olds do not have regular employment by that age. Our parents don’t automatically come into a heap of money exclusively for bus fare on our 16th birthday.

No one has put it better than the Facebook group, currently comprising over 112,000 members, entitled, “I’d like a child ticket. Oh, I’m an adult? Well then I’ll have a beer.”

High school magical The word from the judging panel

OVERALL – SENIOR

Shortlisted: Innuendo (CBC Sydney Hill, Cork); Bleep (Coláiste Cois Life, Lucan, Dublin) Runner Up: Snap(Mount Mercy, Cork). "Full of attitude and great writing. Fresh, fun, and with bags of personality."

And the winner is: Aperture(pictured right by Loreto Clonmel, Tipperary). "Outstanding presentation and high quality content throughout. Full of great ideas, variety and originality. Some commendable design, notably the front inside cover and the fashion spread. Made us want to keep reading!"

DESIGN WINNERS – SENIOR

Aperture(Loreto Clonmel), for overall design. Snap (Mount Mercy Cork), for their fashion spread. Thingamajig(Tullamore College), for overall design and presentation.

WRITING WINNERS – SENIOR

– CERNby Jonathan McKeown, from Vox, Blackrock College

– Maeve Higgins Interviewby Fiona O'Driscoll, The Main Door, Mercy Heights, Skibbereen, Cork

– Pluggedby Niamh Gunning, Snap, Mount Mercy, Cork

– The WheelsWithin Wheels, on the Bus by Eugene Egan, Vox, Blackrock College

– Foreign Exchange by Rebecca Lyons, Aperture, Loreto Clonmel. “This beautifully written story of friendship, by the skilled author of several outstanding pieces in this year’s competition, brought a tear to the judge’s eyes. Hopefully Rebecca will keep writing – she’s one to watch!”

JUNIOR WINNERS – OVERALL

Magazine: KNOW, Coláiste an Phiarsigh, Glanmire, Co Cork

Junior Writing Prize: "Oh Mr Taoiseach" by Seán Maher, KNOW, Coláiste An Phiarsigh, Glanmire, Co Cork