Contributing

Whether or you want to publish your opinion, showcase your talents (art, etc.), inform others, tell us your ideas, or just support the Phoenix by spending some of your time or making a donation to defray printing costs—here's how. If you're interested in helping in any of these ways, please email us at staff@phsphoenix.com

1) Decide how you want to help. The Phoenix is currently looking for opinions, informational pieces, artistic contributions (visual, written, or video), photos, monetary donations, feedback (ideas, comments on quality, etc.), interviewers, letters to the editor, and people to donate some of their time to improving the Phoenix in various other behind-the-scenes ways (e.g. polling and layout).?For more information about each of these, see Contributions by Type.

2) Do your thing. Whatever it is you're good at, or however you want to help, don't delay... just do it!

3) Submit it. Whether it's your very idea, your creation, your dollar bill, or your offer of assistance, we have to get it before we can do anything with it. For most contributions (everything from artwork to offers of assistance), e-mail works just fine: you can reach us at staff@phsphoenix.com. For other types of contributions, and for specific e-mail submission guidelines, see Contributions by Type

4) Pat yourself on the back —because we want to, too! We will formally thank you in different ways for different sorts of contributions (specific acknowledgements for certain contributions can be found under Contributions by Type, but unless otherwise noted, contributors (per issue) are generally acknowledged in the "Issue __ Staff" section on page 1 of each new issue. Regular contributors will also have the opportunity to join the general Phoenix staff, which involves such fabulous perks as semi-regular meetings (with food, of course) and possible awesome t-shirts.

Contributions by Type

1)Reports and Informational Articles

The details: Informational pieces (for our purposes) are articles written to inform a reader. They include most of what we think of as "reporting" (covering recent events, explaining a current issue, etc.); they also include "how-to" articles and other pieces, such as describing to the reader a little-known place or past-time. Informational articles about an issue should accurately portray both sides of that issue whenever possible. At the moment, we are especially looking for sports writers to tell our readers about how PHS's teams are doing on the playing field/court. Photos are encouraged, as they both draw attention to your article and allow for easier formatting.

How to submit: E-mail all informational articles as plain/rich text or as an attachment (.rtf, and .doc only, please) to staff@phsphoenix.com.

2) Opinions and Creative Writing

The details: Opinions are articles written to take a stance on an issue; creative pieces are written to entertain. Examples of creative writing and opinion articles include satire, humor pieces, political articles in which a side is taken on a candidate/issue, riddles, etc. Photos are encouraged, as they both draw attention to your article and allow for easier formatting. For extended creative pieces (more than 800 words), feel free to submit a shortened version or a "teaser," and we will provide our readers with a link to the full text version online.

How to submit: E-mail all informational articles as plain/rich text or as an attachment (.rtf and .doc only, please) to staff@phsphoenix.com. Non-regular contributors to the Phoenix who want to write short opinions (letters to the editor) are encouraged to make the e-mail's subject line "Letter to the Editor."

3)Donations

The details: On average, printing the Phoenix (black-and-white only) for our readers costs about $65 every two weeks—and as we include more material in each issue and gain more readers, costs will rise. Printing costs are currently covered by staff-held bake sales. By contributing as little as $1 per month, you can help keep the Phoenix afloat. More, of course, is always better! All donors of at least $1 every issue will be named in a special Donors section at the back of that issue; all donors of more than $5, $10, $50, and $100 will be named as such in the Donors section. Please note that any contributions in excess of printing costs will be saved to defray later costs; if there is still excess money (which is certainly not yet the case), it will be invested only in other Phoenix expenses (e.g. voice recorder/camera purchases); all donors will be notified of any expenses beyond printing costs.?

How to submit: This can be a bit tricky. We ask that no donations be made in Pomperaug itself, so currently the only way to donate is to give the money to a Phoenix staff member outside of school. We are working on a permanent place where money can be donated, so feel free to e-mail us (staff@phsphoenix.com) if you want to donate but aren't sure how.

4)Events

The details: We want to know what's going on, so that all of our readers can know too! Tell us about any upcoming local event that you think people should know about—whether it's a Southbury/Middlebury town event, or your band's next gig. (Make sure that your event is happening after the release date of next issue, of course.) Event information contributors will generally not be recognized under the "Issue __ Staff" section of the Phoenix.?

How to submit: E-mail event information (date, time, title, short description) to us at staff@phsphoenix.com. (Put "Event" somewhere in the subject line to make sure it is put in our Upcoming Events section.)

5) Photos

The details: We are always looking for relevant and/or interesting photos (e.g. of recent school events) for our articles and collages. All submitted photos should be taken by you, and some basic information about the photo (what it is of and who is in it) is always helpful.?

How to submit: E-mail photos as attachments (preferably as a .jpg) to our address at staff@phsphoenix.com. Please limit the total size of your attachments to 5MB.

6) The Arts

The details: Feel free to submit any visual artwork (from short videos to photo collages to comics to Impressionist paintings, and everything in between), and audio clips (a demo of your band's new song, or maybe a clip from your performance at a benefit concert), to the Phoenix. (For info on creative writing, see #2 on this page.) Let us know the title (if there is one), and when the piece was created; also, if there is any back story, we'd love to hear it. We will only be able to feature (at most) one or two pieces from each category per issue, depending on space, so don't be disappointed if your submission is held for a later issue.?

How to submit: E-mail all static visual artwork as (an) attachment(s) to our address at staff@phsphoenix.com. (Most picture types work, but .jpg is preferable.) Videos can be hosted on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/phsphoenix; please email staff@phsphoenix.com to arrange this. You can also send us a link to a video on your own YouTube channel, and we can post the link to it. Audio files should be e-mailed to us as attachments (.mp3 only).Please limit the total size of your attachments to 5MB.

7) Your Time (Miscellaneous Ways to Help)?

The details: There are always things to do at the Phoenix that will help keep your favorite news magazine running smoothly, and which don't require you to be a Twain or a Rembrandt. Though this list is subject to change, we are currently looking for people to:?

-Come up with new, interesting polls and surveys.

-Provide important sports information (scores, important upcoming matches, etc.) (a regular, biweekly position)?

-Advertise/market: Not enough people know that the Phoenix exists, and we need to get the word out!

-Raise funds to cover printing costs (note that no fundraising can occur in school)?

-Find new members: underclassmen are shamefully underrepresented in the Phoenix, and we want to change that!?

-Help with the layout of each issue (a regular, bi-weekly position).

How to submit: If you are interested in helping out in any of these capacities, or have any other talents/ideas, let us know by e-mailing us (including your name and grade) at staff@phsphoenix.com.

8) Feedback

The details: We are always eager to hear your thoughts on the Phoenix. We want to hear your critiques (was last issue's poll a stupid idea? Did we butcher your name in a caption?), your ideas and suggestions (should we focus more on the upcoming sports season? should we rank students and teachers?), and information (are your AP class sizes at the target levels? Did three of your friends just get suspended unjustly?) - tell us what you think! Feedback contributors will generally not be recognized under the "Issue __ Staff" section of the Phoenix.

How to submit: The best way to reach us with feedback is at our e-mail address, staff@phsphoenix.com. You can also leave comments on our website, post on our Facebook page (Facebook.com/phsphoenix), or tweet to us (twitter.com/phsphoenix).

*A note on anonymity: The Phoenix does not print anonymous submissions, though we may look into or act on anonymous information or suggestions.

**A note on deadlines and review: Deadlines for written contributions are generally the Friday before each new issue's release. It is the prerogative of the editor of the Phoenix (currently Rebecca Beilinson, a PHS junior) to screen all submitted content before it is made available to our readers. If your submission does not meet reasonable (but flexible) standards of quality (or decency!), you will be notified of that fact. Most written submissions (i.e., articles) will be sent back to the submitter if any major changes have been made; articles submitted after the regular deadline, and articles with only minor (e.g. spelling/grammar) revisions, will not be sent back after being edited.