August…

POSITIVE TEENS HOSTS TABLE AT BOSTON ARTS FESTIVAL

For the second consecutive year, Positive Teens maintained a display and reference table at the annual Boston arts fundraiser, "Chalk One Up for the Arts." This event is always a great opportunity to get the word out about Positive Teens and to highlight our teen contributors-they are all such positive role models.

June…

POSITIVE TEENS' PUBLISHER INTERVIEWED ON GIRL TV

Always happy to talk about Positive Teens, publisher and editor-in-chief Susan Manning took full advantage of the opportunity when she was a guest on channel 9, Boston Neighborhood Network's "Girl TV" program.

Interviewed by teen co-hosts Melissa and Anita, Ms. Manning told the story of how Positive Teens was conceived. She highlighted the progression of the look and the design of the magazine (now in its fourth year), with past issues. Ms. Manning also explained why she believes the magazine is continuing to grow in popularity.

April…

PT's 2nd Annual Teen Poetry Slam a Success

Twenty-three teen poetry slammers participated in Positive Teens' 2nd Annual Poetry Slam. The teen poets wowed the audience with their words and dramatic presentations.

Following the rules of the National Poetry Slam, each poem had to be the poet's original composition, each poet was scored for his or her poetry and presentation, and a performance could not exceed three minutes. If a poet exceeded the time limit, a poet would be penalized by a deduction in his or her score. All poets were extremely creative.

Participants came from cities and towns throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Although some poets came to compete as teams, and others as individual performers-time constraints prevented having two formats. The poets were organized into five teams: Bridgewater, Tree Planters, South Shore, Connecticut, and Providence.

Final team scores were based on a total of each member's score. And in addition, first and second place acknowledgements were given to highest individual performers. Certificates and medals were awarded to all participants, with an additional bonus of poetry and literature books donated by the Connecticut team leader. See Slam Winners listed below...

March…

PT conducts writing workshops for Boston Public Library

In conjunction with the Boston Public Library and the Boston Public Library Foundation's annual citywide writing contest, publisher Susan Manning conducted creative writing workshops at one of the branch libraries. The contest is open to Boston area public, parochial and private highs schools. The theme of this year's contest is "Free to be…"

March…

POSITIVE TEENS' LIBRARY CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Positive Teens' 2001-2002 Best Young Adult Library awards have been announced.

The winners selected are:

Best Young Adult Public Library: The Young Adults Room of the Boston Public Library, Uphams Corner Branch, Boston, Massachusetts. Nominated for "its friendly and helpful staff, tranquil environment, and resources."

Best Young Adult Public Librarians: The Librarians of the Young Adults Room of the Boston Public Library, Copley Branch, Boston, Massachusetts. Nominated for "their friendliness, professionalism, and respect for everybody."

Best Public High School Library: The Jeremiah E. Burke High School Library, Boston, Massachusetts. Nominated for "its friendly and helpful staff, pleasant environment, and resources."

Best Young Adult Public School Librarian: Ms. Ellen Vogel, the Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Boston, Massachusetts. Nominated because, "she is able to help students and teachers anytime. She stays attentive. She will help students one by one until everyone understands. She has patience."

The winners received award certificates, a Positive Teens designer t-shirt, and a year subscription to Positive Teens magazine.

February…

Shekinah 13 Artists CD Release

Positive Teens publisher Susan Manning and PT's intern Wendy attended the Shekinah 13 Artists CD release concert at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston. The CD's 13 artists are all female current students or recent alumnae of Berklee College of Music. At the evening concert, the artists performed their original songs, which varied in style from R&B to rock, heavy metal to folk. PT had heard that one of the 13 female artists featured on the CD was a teen who had traveled from Moscow, Russia at the age of 16 to attend Berklee. Her name is Polina. You can read about this up-and-coming young star in the March/April issue of Positive Teens magazine.

Berklee announced that Shekinah 13 Artists CD was "the first commercial recording to be jointly released by a major record company and a student-run record label" - Berklee College of Music's student-run record label Heavy Rotation Records and Epic/Sony Records. The CD was released to stores on February 5th.

February…

PARTNERSHIP HOSTS CANADIAN AUTHOR

In an anti-violence program held at the central branch of the Boston Public Library, Canadian author Anita Roberts talked about her new book, Safe Teen, Powerful Alternatives to Violence. The cosponsors of this program were Positive Teens magazine, the Boston Chapter of the Women's National Book Association's Teen Literacy Outreach project, the Young Adults Room of the Boston Public Library, and Raincoast Books.

The book, which is written for both male and female teens, offers an in-depth look at many of the issues adolescents face every day. Bullying, sexual harassment, racism, and homophobia are some of the issues discussed in the book. By using members of the audience in role-play, Ms. Roberts demonstrated alternative responses teens could use when faced with potentially volatile situations. http://www.safeteen.ca

January…

Calling All Teens! We Want Your Help!

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) placed an ad in the January/February issue of Positive Teens magazine asking teens for their help. The MHS, in compiling material for their archives about the tragic events of September 11, 2001, wanted to include the thoughts of teenagers in their collection of historical records about this day's events. MHS wanted to know what they were doing when they heard about the events. How did they react? What were their thoughts? What were their reflections, and did the events change how they interact with people who look and dress different than them? Teens were invited to become a part of history-what they had to say could provide important background information to researchers and writers 50, 100, or 200 years into the future about the events of September 11, 2001. Positive Teens, in partnership with the Historical Society, was the repository for material sent from teens.