TINTON FALLS – Ranney’s Middle School has started off the New Year on a note of accomplishment.
The MAG, Ranney’s Middle School literary and art magazine, has carried on what has now become a nationally-recognized winning tradition. The student editorial staff and advisor, Lorrie Benditt, recently earned awards from Columbia and American Scholastic Press associations for the Origins edition (Volume 1) of the 2011-2012 MAG and the Future of Technology (Volume 2).
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association granted The MAG the Gold Award after the publication scored an impressive 851 out of a possible 1,000 points. The literary and art magazine earned a first-place award with special merit from the American Scholastic Press Association, placing it at the top of the category: Private/Parochial Schools with an enrollment of 500-1,000. “I am so appreciative of the continued recognition The MAG receives after all of the hard work that goes into its production,” Benditt said. “Each year, the editors, staff and I learn more about the writing, editing and layout processes.”
The American Scholastic Press Association also recognized Brittany Hofferber ’17 of Little Silver with an Outstanding Poem Award for her contribution of Fall is Like a Show. According to the ASPA, the award was given to only four students nationwide this year. “Brittany wrote her poem after a lesson based on an idea from the annual press days at Columbia University which we attend every fall,” Benditt said. “These press days have helped a great deal.”
In 2012, the magazine’s Volume 13 issues entitled Fairytales & Fantasy and Summertime 2011 were granted a First Prize with Special Merit award from the American Scholastic Press Association and a silver medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. In 2010, The MAG’s 50th anniversary edition not only received a First Prize with Special Merit, but was also named Best Middle School Literary Art Magazine, a recognition bestowed upon only three schools throughout the U.S.
