With its debut edition out next week, Zenith, the school’s literary magazine, offers another vehicle for students at IPA to share their talents. The mission, stated in the publication, is “to showcase extraordinary art and literature, encourage quality writing, and strengthen the confidence of our artists.” Compiled by upper school students who chose the yearlong elective class, the glossy-covered, 80-plus page, full-color magazine is filled with poetry, short stories, and visual art.

Led by class advisor, Laura Davis, the students found that the holistic approach they used during the course had both drawbacks and advantages. Kayla Economou (’13), who took the cover photo of the magazine, explained that, rather than having one editor-in-chief, “everyone in the class was part of every decision, which made everything take a long time.”

Keani Meier-Kreienbaum (’11) commented, “Even naming the magazine took three months. We finally had to hold a vote and go with majority rules.” Among the other names considered for the magazine were “ThInk,” “Polaris” (as a nod to the school’s Navigator logo), and “Splat.” Zenith, meaning “the highest point, or peak,” won out as a good fit for the purpose of the publication.

One of the requirements of the class was to contribute something for print to the magazine, so the class had their own submissions. But how to get work from other students? “The hardest part was getting the submissions going,” said Laine Bollinger (’13), who also helped research different online printing options for the magazine. “Since it was the first edition, no one knew what to expect.”

Buzz about the magazine was created by the fundraisers the class held, starting with posting their project on a website called Kickstarter, which features new creative endeavors seeking start-up support. On-campus fundraising included waffle sales, a light-bulb exchange, and a colorful “paint balloon splat board” game at the Fall Family Festival. With that energy, submissions to the magazine started to come in.

“This being a new activity, there was no budget for the publication this year,” explained Davis. “We also wanted to lower the purchase price, so fundraising was necessary, but took a lot of time.”

“The initial content selection process was like a conveyer belt,” disclosed Zoey Araki (’13) with all the submissions placed out on tables and each piece being read, sometimes aloud, or looked at by every member of the class. Written pieces were judged with three questions in mind: “Did I like it?” “Is it memorable?” and “Is it interesting?” Photos of art pieces were similarly considered. “We wanted a variety of art forms to be included so we paid attention to the medium involved in each piece. It was important for the work to feel like it had a ‘soul,’” said Meier-Kreienbaum. In the end, the work of nearly 40 students was selected to be included for print.

Three of the class members--Meier-Kreienbaum, Kelsi Teramae (’13), and Steven Edwards (‘13)--learned to use the publishing software inDesign to put the magazine together. “No small feat,” admitted Davis who learned along with them.

The Zenith Staff of 2010-2011
Back row L-R Laine Bollinger (’13), Mele Lima (’11), Virginia Rhodes (’13), Kayla Economou (’13) and advisor Laura Davis. Front row L-R Steven Edwards (’13), Keani Meier-Kreienbaum (’11), Zoey Araki (’13), and Jenny Jones (’13). Not photographed Kelsi Teramae (’13).

As for the finished product? “We met our deadline. We wanted to have it before the seniors left so we went without a proof. It was a risk,” said Davis. Economou admitted, “I’m so proud of it. All the arguments we had and decisions that had to be made, they were all worth it.” Jenny Jones (’13) declared, “Literary magazines at other schools now have some competition!”

Zenith goes on sale Tuesday, May 10. Cost of the magazine is $3 per copy.