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ROCKVILLE, Md. - Some Montgomery County (web | news) students are celebrating the official release of a 16-page publication they produced, dedicated to Barack Obama (web | news | bio) 's inauguration.

Several Rockville High School students received press passes to cover the inaugural celebration. At that time, there were informal talks about publishing a book or magazine that would feature more photos and articles written by other Montgomery County students. Several schools were sold on the idea and together they made the publication come to life.

"The stories that you see in the magazine are reflections about what it was like to record history as a student journalist," said newspaper adviser Peter Daddone. The publication showcases the original work of students from eight high schools throughout the county.

"l really wanted to do this to be able to tell my grandchildren that I wrote an article about it. Not only did I see it, but I contributed to the media aspect of it," said Springbrook High student Eleanor Sciannella.

Rockville High took the lead and gathered content, using the web, from the other students. "We created an FTP site. Different high schools uploaded their material on the FTP site. We all shared that material. We all had access to that material," said Daddone.

Students didn't even meet face to face until days before the magazine went to print. "Because we we working with so many different schools, we had to make sure that everything was in together on time," said Rockville student Polly Ingram.

Stephanie Barber from Northwest High saw the end product for the first time recently. "When I saw it, I was like wow, this is amazing. Students did this."

The school system funded the unique opportunity and printed more than 2,000 copies, set to be distributed throughout the community. "We never really had a full out color book, so it's just like a privilege," said one student.

The magazine is free and is available at a number of locations:

Rockville High School
Northwest High School
Paint Branch High School
Walter Johnson High School
Sherwood High School
Damascus High School
Walt Whitman High School
Springbrook High School
Peerless Rockville
Central Office - Rockville, Md.

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