Birchwood Student's Essay Is Chosen From Thousands

Farah S, a third grade Westlake student attending Birchwood School, was the only student in Ohio chosen as a Top Ten Winner in a National Essay Contest. There were several thousand essays entered in the contest, sponsored by Creative Communication, from the United States and Canada. Her essay entitled Donating My Long Hair is an inspiring 250 words describing the experience of donating her hair to “Wigs for Kids.” Sayed shared her top ten spot with high school students, and was the only third grade student to make the top thirty.

Creative Communication is a company who is devoted to the promotion of writing, teaching, and appreciation of student writing. The intent of their contests is to motivate creative writers like Sayed. The winning essays were selected for their literary merit, creativity, and social significance. Farah’s essay can be viewed at www.poeticpower.com/winner.php.

Science Awards

American Chemical Society and Chemistry Week

The Cleveland ACS sponsors three contests for students in K-8. Each contest requires that students experiment, record observations, and organize his or her thoughts to answer age-appropriate questions. The 3rd-4th graders conducted a series of experiments and observed how much foam was produced when different crushed and liquefied candies, vinegar, ginger ale, and lemon juice were mixed with baking soda. The 5th – 8th graders observed the reactions that occurred to copper pennies and other metals soaked in vinegar and salt over a three-day period. Two Birchwood students were chosen from the 550 5th – 8th grade entries.

Bianca H 4th grade regional winner
Vinny K. 5th grade winner
Sanjana R. 7th grade winner


The ACS, also, sponsors a poster contest for students in Kindergarten – Grade 12.
This year’s theme was “Behind the Scenes with Chemistry”. Students from six counties in the greater Cleveland area submitted entries relating to the theme "Behind the Scenes with Chemistry."

Shruthi R. K-2 regional winner
Sahej B. 3rd-5th regional winner
Sahej B. 3rd-5th second place national winner

Students Published in the Creative Communications Contest

Students published in the Creative Communications Poetry Anthology
Fall 2010 Contest

Marla B- Trees
Dhweeja D- Grass
Kavya R- A Rose
Sanjana R- Snapshots
Susmita R-Football
Hassan S- The Falling Snow

Power of the Pen District Winners

Power of the Pen District Winners

A group of seventh and eighth grade Birchwood students packed into a van at 7:00 A.M. on the Saturday morning of January 29 for the Power of the Pen district competition. They competed at Howland Middle School in Warren, Ohio, among 122 contestants from 11 schools. They came home with several school and individual awards!

Power of the Pen is a writing competition exclusive to the state of Ohio involving middle grade students. Representing their schools, six students per grade have the opportunity to showcase their creativity and writing abilities in three rounds of impromptu writing. Competing as individuals and as a team, the Birchwood contingent fared very well.

The eighth grade team placed first with Sarah D, Trevor L, Prithvi P, Hassan S, Daniel W, Hannah Y, and alternate Sue R.

The seventh grade team brought home a third place trophy. Members included Clive C, Joan C, Dhweeja D, Kavya R, Katelyn V, Naomi W, and alternate Christine B.

The top twelve writers from each grade were also recognized. Among the seventh graders, Naomi W was awarded the first place trophy. In addition she snagged two “best of round” awards and a special Vindicator journalism award. For the eighth graders, Prithvi P and Sarah D received the ninth and sixth place, respectively. Hannah Y earned the third place trophy, one point away from second and three points shy of the first place winner. Naomi W and Hannah Y were among four students who earned Perfect Rank Point Total Scores by achieving 1’s in all three rounds of writing at this event. Hassan S joins these two ladies to be among eleven students who achieved Superior Ratings.

The executive director of POP Lorraine Merrill stated, “Bravo to Birchwood School for its awesome performance. It will be taking all six members of its eighth grade team on to Regionals.”

National Geographic Geography Bee

National Geographic Geography Bee

Congratulations to Trevor L for his first place finish in the school bee. This is Trevor’s third year as the school winner. Next he will take a lengthy written exam to try and qualify for the state bee in April. Congratulations also to sixth grader Prathna K for her second place finish and fourth grader Olivia S for her third place finish!

National Chemistry Week Contests

National Chemistry Week ContestsBack in October, 1-4 grade students designed posters for the 2010 National Chemistry Week Poster Contest. The theme was “Behind the Scenes with Chemistry”; posters were to highlight how chemistry is used in movies, such as make-up, sugar glass, fog machines and more. Birchwood School had two regional winners (students from six counties entered the regional contest): Shruthi R won the K-2 division and Sahej B won the 3-5 division. Sahej B also won second place in the National Contest for grades 3-5. Fantastic job!

The third and fourth graders also entered the National Chemistry Week Experiment Contest. Students observed the reactions when liquids (ginger ale, lemon juice) and crushed and liquefied candies (Nerds, Lemon Heads, Sour Patch Kids) were added to a cup with baking soda and water. They then answered questions about the results. Bianca H was chosen as a regional winner. Congratulations!

Cricket Magazine's National Story-Writing Contest

Cricket Magazine’s National Story-Writing Contest

The results for the September Cricket story-writing contest are in, and Birchwood students have made us proud once again. The prompt simply asked writers to tell a story that included a horse, and three third and fourth grade girls were recognized for their engaging and creative tales. Abby M earned first place for “A Horse Fit for a King” while Emma P came in second for “A Pony to be Proud of.” “Magic Mariachi” earned Olivia S an Honorable Mention award. Congratulations, young ladies!

Math Awards Reported in February 2011

MATH OLYMPIADS CONTEST #3Gold Award: Trevor, Brad, Clive, Nate, Christine B, Vinny, Pheby, Michael, Darius, Jack. Silver Award: Suzie, Sunny, Marla, Prithvi, Daniel, Kavya, Dhweeja, Jorgen, Megan, Anna, Ammar, William. Bronze Award: Hassan, Amir F, Sarah D, Kareem, Peter H, Katelyn V, Haley, Grace, Adam.

CONTINENTAL MATH LEAGUE #3Gold Award: Trevor, Prithvi, Marla, Hassan, Suzie, Kavya, Dhweeja, Clive, Nate, Vinny, Ammar. Silver Award: Alexander I, Sunny, Sarah D, Kareem, Christine B, Michael, Darius, Grace. Bronze Award: Sam Z, Brad, Daniel, Hannah, Joan, Dalya, Sachi, Shan, Katelyn, Naomi, Jorgen, William.

Congratulations to all of our mathletes whose hard work and persistence is paying off!!!