Preliminary task - Analysing Existing School Newsletters

Conventions of a School Magazine:

In order to create a school magazine I first had to identify the codes and conventions in regards to semiotics, language, layout, graphics and images by analysing others. This is an analysis of the Deyes High monthly newsletter.

Front page:

   A part of semiotics is the use of a house style, this is shown through layout, graphics and colours. It is the expected conventions for a specific type of article. The colours used are those associated with the school, for example in Deyes High School these are blue, white and red. The masthead is the same used on all documents, this is just as recognisable to the institute as the Deyes High logo. On the front page there are two shades of blue and red boxes, this is to link in and show again house style.

  There is a pug in the top left corner of the magazine of the Deyes High Logo, this is an instant indicator to the institute and is instantly recognisable to those associated with the school.

  The images are of students and their achievements. They are dressed smartly, engaging with their props, this is all part of the mise en scene to connote smart and active students.

    The font on the front of the page, used both in the masthead and the folio, being the date of issue of the newsletter, are in a sans serif font and are quite large and bold. This is not what I would expect Deyes High School to use for their target audience of all students and parents. This may have been OK when aimed at younger students however Deyes High School should convey their formality in their text as all part of the mise en scene. This newsletter is aimed at older students, those of all different abilities and parents, therefore I would expect a conventional school newspaper to have a less bold and more elegant serif font.

Double Page Spread:

     The first convention of a magazine apparent is the columns used with the images relevant to the text and also the subheadings.

   Images showing the students activities and achievements are very conventional as the school wants to portray their selves and their students as successful.  They also include images of school trips to show the students are active and the school does support this and to show they are fun. All images are relevant to the individual article. All students are dressed smartly under their B&Q uniform which is all part of the mise en scene.

  The language used is very formal with some monosyllabic words such as "generosity". I do feel that most students and parents alike of all different abilities would be able to understand this language and the context. The language is formal to establish their status and to show they hold power. There are features of power in the text. There is also shared understanding, one example being in that the magazine states "Miss Treanor" without explaining who the person is, assuming the reader will know.

  The text used is not what I would expect to be conventional of a school magazine, as with on the cover text is of a sans serif font, I would expect a more formal serif font making the school look more professional, however the text is easy to read and will not intimidate any readers.