Welcome to The Dragon!

Layout Changes Coming!

We are currently going through some layout changes. In the mean time, we will be posting new editions on our website in PDF form.

Click here to download our first edition of the
2008-2009 school year!

New Application Process!

In years past, students were required to fill out an application in order to join The Dragon. However, this year, we want to see what our potential staff members are really made of. Therefore, any student interested in joining The Dragon must write an actual news article. Listed below you'll find the requirements for this article. All application articles must be turned in by 8 AM on Wednesday, October 1st in the envelop posted outside room 131.

All application articles must meet the following requirements:

• The articles can take any of the following forms: feature story, editorial, or review.
• The article must focus on a piece of school news or something going on in Darien. Reviews must focus on something of interest to MMS students.
• The article must include at least two INTERESTING quotes. The quotes can come from one interview subject (a.k.a. one person), but they must be more detailed/important than just a one or two word answer.

Not sure how to get ideas for an article, here are some things to consider:

• Is there something going on at school that you're not happy with? Write an editorial explaining why something at MMS needs to change. Make sure to provide a reasonable solution and get quotes from others that agree with your point of view.
• Is your team putting on a major event or going on a major trip? Tell us about the exciting happenings on your team in a feature article. Get specific event details from your teachers and reactions from your fellow classmates.
• Is there something special a classmate or teacher does outside of MMS? Write a feature article about that person. Make sure your interview the individual focuses on that unique interest or activity.
• Do you have a favorite book, movie, or restaurant? Would others in the MMS community like it as well? Write a review about your favorite "thing". Find someone who can also comment on your topic to support your opinion.
• Still having a hard time coming up with an idea? Check out back issues of The Dragon to see what others have written about in the past. This may spark an idea, but make sure your article fits into one of the three categories listed above.

NOTE: For your application article, you can NOT write an advice column or creative writing piece. We want to see you write REAL news!

Last thing, formatting! When preparing the final draft of your article, please use the following format. There are a lot of rules, so read each one carefully!

• Place your phone number in the upper right hand corner. We will be picking our staff members based on talent alone, not based on your name, not based on your grade, not based on your team. If you put your name on your article, you will be disqualified.
• Make sure to put a title on your piece! The title should be on the next line after your phone number.
• Make sure to indent each paragraph! Do NOT separate the paragraphs with extra lines of space. In newspaper, we don't like to waste space with blank lines. Don't double space it either!
• Your article should be typed! Please use either Times New Roman or Arial font in 12 or 14 point size.
• A newspaper is in columns, but your article should NOT be!