Preparing Your Submission for "Connecting with 2010",
the NVSD Olympic/Paralympic Blog

Blog editor:
Laurie Martin, NVSD Olympic/Paralympic Committee Co-chair 
email: lmartin@nvsd44.bc.ca

Assistant editor:
Ann Gillespie
email: agillespie@nvsd44.bc.ca

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Introduction

Sharing stories about the involvement of our students, staff and school communities is the central purpose of “Connecting with 2010: the NVSD Olympic/Paralympic blog”. Our schools have hosted numerous athletes and representatives of the 2010 Olympics and are exploring a wide variety of ways to become more involved in the experience. The “Connecting with 2010” blog will share stories, photos and helpful information alongside a dedicated web page of useful links and resources.

If you have an Olympic-related activity you’d like to see on the blog, please follow these guidelines to develop the information for the blog editor.

Getting started

1. If you’re unsure, start with an e-mail to the “Connecting with 2010” editor. To ensure the best approach, please contact Laurie Martin at lmartin@nvsd44.bc.ca if you’ve got an Olympic-related story to tell or resource to share.

2. Review recent blog entries to see the style and approach we take with postings. Note that postings are generally no more than six sentences in length, and can be as brief as a photo/caption.

    3.   Collect your information. To assist the timely publication of your story, please include in your draft (if relevant):

• Name of event
• Name of event organizer/coordinator and contact information
• Note grade(s) of students or class (ie. “Biology 10”) if it was a class activity
• Purpose of event (what did you want to achieve?)
• Outcome (what did you actually achieve?)
• At least one .jpg photograph (we can’t publish without an image)
• Highlights of the event, best moments.
• Was it a fundraiser? How were funds raised? How much was raised?
• Are tickets for sale? If so, list prices and contact information.
• Can people participate in some way? If so, how can they get more information?

4. Make it better. Add a quote from the principal, coordinating staff member or a student to help make your point more personal.

    5.  Photo tips and privacy concerns

• Send only your best. Please don’t download the contents of your camera in an email. Sort through your photos and send two or three to accompany your information
• Send your photos as jpgs. Don’t embed them in a word file, send them as separate jpg files.
• Ensure you have photo permissions on file. If staff or students in the photos are easily identifiable ensure their photo permission is on file. If you submit the photo, we will assume this permission has been received.
• Consider captions. Please describe what is going on in a picture, if it’s not self-explanatory. Note that for privacy reasons, we generally avoid publishing the names of students with their pictures unless a specific request for acknowledgement has been made.

Pitfalls to avoid

1. Please don’t send us a long list of names to thank in the posting. It’s tedious for readers, and detracts from the appeal of your posting. We recommend you thank individuals separately, and focus your story on the event itself.
2. Please don’t send in long reports or documents for the editor to distill into a story. We may not be able to accommodate your request unless it is provided following these guidelines.

FAQ

Do I have to write the article myself?
For blog postings, we’d like contributors to try their best to draft their own posting. At very least, please provide the facts in bullet-form. All postings will be reviewed

Why are the articles usually so short?
Attention spans are short. If readers can see that the posting is brief (they see the end of it on their screen) they are more likely to read it in the first place.

In writing for the web, postings employ links to supporting information for those readers who would like to know more.

Can anyone contribute an article or request a posting?
Posting submissions are open to NVSD employees only. We do not accept submissions to the website from outside agencies or individuals. Partner groups may approach the editor to request consideration.

“Connecting with 2010” Blog Comment Policy

We welcome your comments on this blog. All comments are moderated over the course of a standard work schedule, and may not appear immediately. Harsh language or profanity will not be posted. Commercial promotions and advertising comments will not be posted. Links in comments will be considered for inclusion in the posting, but only if the link is accurate and does not lead to advertising or “error” pages.

Comments may be edited for spelling and grammar. Thank you for your interest in “Connecting with 2010”!