Seeking help creating closed, non-published submission feature

I run a small non-profit in Vermont that aims to help students write better. We are in collaboration with schools, students, professional writers, teachers and universities/colleges and newspapers. We currently have a very basic, static site at http://www.youngwritersproject.org. I am in the process of building a new Drupal site that will be interactive and afford students an opportunity to create a community of young writers. I was turned onto Drupal by a woman in New Zealand who runs the New Zealand Idol fan site: http://www.idolblog.com/.

<snip: removed paragraph at originators request>

I am seeking to integrate the submission process into the new Drupal site (which is not operable yet, but you can see where I'm headed at http://www.youngwritersproject.org/drupal ) I am having issues with this installation and am in the process of starting from scratch to build a firmer foundation.

I am, as you might guess, a newbie so please be patient. I am learning and am enjoying the process. I also have greatly appreciated the Drupal community who have been helpful and interesting....

HERE IS WHAT I NEED HELP WITH...I want to build a feature (or use one that is already created) that would allow students to go to the site, click on a special link that would allow them (or their teachers or parents) to submit work that would NOT be published; as part of the submission process, I need them to fill out the author's name, school, grade, e-mail addresses, phone number, prompt keyword and headline, all information that would go to the separate MYSQL database. When the submission was completed, I'd like all entries dropped into a HIDDEN page, protected by password, that would pull out and set on top of each entry, Headline (title), Name, School, Grade in byline form.

I would then like to be able to allow selected judges to go to that hidden area, use the password, SELECT the prompt keyword(s), view the submissions and VOTE on each ones they like.

I would, as administrator and editor, then like to be able to sort and select ALL entries that received votes and then select which of those I wish to publish to public view on the site and then do so on a timed basis; I'd like a summary (I would write); that summary would be published on the front page (node) which would then be linked to another node that would contain summaries of EACH of the selections chosen; each could be clicked to read full versions. I would also like to be able to copy (cut and paste) the entire string of chosen entries in one file (i.e., one entry on top of another on top of another) for use in Quark as part of the process for how I build each week's newspaper page we publish.

Now from my limited knowledge of Drupal this seems entirely possible; I am hoping this can be done through settings, a module or simple php coding (again my knowledge is very limited) or a combination thereof.

Is there anyone out there who can help?

Thanks much,

Geoffrey Gevalt
http://www.youngwritersproject.org