On Thursday, May 15, three brown boxes sat in Room 300 of CHS. At 9:23 a.m., Claire Lewis, one of the VOICE Editor-in-Chiefs, opened the first box. She pulled out the top copy of the seventh edition of VOICE with a huge smile on her face, yelling, “Yes!!!” as onlookers excitedly cheered and clapped.
For the past seven years, the literary and arts journal VOICE has been a part of CHS. It all started in 2018 when Judith DeWoskin and Tracy Anderson had the idea to create a publication that celebrated students’ writing and artwork. DeWoskin retired in 2020, and Anderson has continued to advise the journal since. Beth Portincasa, a CHS art teacher, has served as the art advisor on VOICE.
Tracy Anderson is CHS’s beloved journalism, yearbook and forum advisor. She loves to be a big part of VOICE because she can help put something together that is unique and important in the world. Anderson thinks that the structure and principle of VOICE have remained consistent and predictable, but the art and process have improved.
“It’s great to see the amazing work that students are doing in our building, whether it’s in painting, photography, or the creative writing that they’re doing in terms of short stories or poetry,” Anderson said. “It’s amazing to be a person that gets to see all of that work that’s being done in all these different classrooms and spaces.”
Tiffinny Moutardier is a sophomore at CHS who enjoys making art both for herself and for sharing with others. This year, one of her pieces was featured on the front and back covers of VOICE. Even though Moutardier knew that her artwork would be on the covers, it was still a surprise to actually hold the book and see her work on it. She went home that day and spent hours reading through the book. Moutardier feels like VOICE is a display of artwork but also a unique look into what people are creating and how they express themselves.
“My art can reach a lot more people than it usually does, since more people are getting VOICE and seeing the cover,” Moutardier said. “That’s just more people looking at my art and it’s just more exposure, which is great.”
Claire Lewis is a senior at CHS and is one of the editors of VOICE. She became an editor two years ago and will be graduating and leaving the staff this year. Her favorite part about editing is getting to look at all the art and writing and it really sinking in. She feels like VOICE is really a collaboration with all of the school, not just the staff, so everyone is recognized.
“[Seeing the distribution] was so cute,” Lewis said. “I felt so proud of the work that we all did. Being able to see all of the art that people have done and give them a book that has their pieces in it is so beautiful. Just being able to see everyone being recognized for what they do was so awesome.”
VOICE is a great way to showcase CHS’s art and writing, but it can also be a way to showcase students’ own opinions, values and voices. Both visual and literary art have a huge place in our world, and VOICE is able to stand out as an amazing and exclusively CHS-made journal. Whether you’re a reader or on the editing team, it’s always something unique and special. This creative endeavor is a special part of CHS, and this year’s distribution has created many memories.
