A representative from the Scholastic New York regional office
called the school with exciting news. Several students in
the seventh and eighth who entered the Scholastic Writing
Awards competition are Gold Key winners. All these entries
are eligible for the national Scholastic competition. The
following are synopses of their writing:
Trevor L wrote Next Year, a memoir about his experience
in a summer baseball league where his mediocre team
rose in the ranks to play in the championships.
Vikas N wrote a fantasy entitled Briefcase about a boy’s
brush with the dark forces as he struggled to make sense
of his father’s dying gift even as he was defending a friend.
In The Treasure Susmita R wrote a short short story about
how a bullied boy faced his adversity in a race to hunt for
treasure.
Shawki A’s The End was a short short story exploring the
life of an addict and his influence on a young adolescent
entrusted to his care.
My Brother and Me is Nathan C’s memoir about the
escapades he finds himself in as he follows his brother’s
apparently innocuous suggestions.
Dog Trouble is another memoir. Deepak K writes about
his horrific ordeal with ferocious dogs as a young child
and explains his family’s intense phobia of dogs.
Miranda M in Here, Fishy Fishy describes an innocent
experience one summer of how she and her friends try to
save a stranded fish near the shores Lake Erie.
In the science fiction piece entitled Mission 274, Colony
531, Mohammed M writes a story about a scientist who
embarks on a journey of fact finding, only to discover other
truths about himself and his friend.
It was not until Lulu S visits her grandma in China, while
making the acquaintance of her cousins, that she learns
a valuable lesson in the piece entitled Follow.
Nardine T submitted two pieces, Coolio and That
Day. Coolio explores her thoughts and inner feelings
as she witnesses a young friend’s suffering and fight
against cancer. That Day is a fictional short short
story about how a young woman coped with parents
who invited themselves to dinner after being
estranged for several years.
Ben W was also recognized for both of the pieces he
submitted. The Spelling Bee was a short story about how
the friendship of two friends, both vying for first place in
the National Spelling Bee, endured the trials, jealousy, and
pressure inherent in the contest. His other piece called
Extreme Sports redefined his understanding of the venue
as he described the adventure and peril he experienced in
his first whitewater rafting trip down the Ohio Pyle River.
Congratulations to these young writers whose manuscripts
will be sent on to the national office for judging. We wish
them the best of luck.
