Showing posts with label language arts 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language arts 2010. Show all posts

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Three Birchwood Students Published in National Magazine


Three Birchwood School students’ stories were published in the January edition of Cricket Magazine, a national literary publication for readers aged 9 to 14. Abigail M, age 10 of Cleveland, Emma P, age 8 of Bay Village, and Olivia S, age 10 of Westlake, received first place, second place, and honorable mention respectively. Students were asked to develop a short story about a horse. These girls join a long list of Birchwood School students who have earned the honor of having their work published by this national magazine for children. Last year the school turned out 4 top-three finishers, and 6 Honorable Mentions.

When asked about the importance of these awards Karen Kufahl, the Language Arts teacher at the Cleveland private school said, “Considering that this is a national contest, it is a real credit to these young ladies' creativity and diligence as well as to the Birchwood writing program that they would be honored with the publication of their stories. I am so proud of each of them for writing engaging and beautifully descriptive pieces that won the admiration of the judges."

Monday, June 14, 2010

International Future Problem Solving 2010

We just heard from Katelyn V who
is at the International Future
Problem Solving Bowl in Madison,
Wisconsin. She took 2nd place in
the whole wide world in the
individual competition! Woo-hoo!!!

Cricket Writing Contest Winners

In March, the third through fifth graders entered a storywriting
contest in which they were asked to write about
a rescue. Avi B won first place for his story entitled “My
Dad Saves the Day.” Additionally, two students received
Honorable Mention awards: Maya D for “The True Hero”
and Sophia C for “Saving a Puppy.” These writers’
names and stories will appear in the July/August issue
of Cricket magazine.

Power of the Pen

The 2010 state finals were held at The College of
Wooster on May 21. Out of 355 seventh grade students
representing the 280 schools in Ohio, Trevor L (7th
grade) qualified for the “power round” of writing and
emerged with a twelfth place state medal.

Ohio Celebration of Poets

Several students have poems published in the 2010
Ohio Celebration of Poets. Fifth grade winners are
Alexis H, Vinny K, Grace X, Anna H, Darius Z, Adam
I, Maya F, Ammar M, Anthony C, Prathna K, and
Pheby L. Sixth grade winners are Kareem T, Alex H,
Nate C, Cameron S, Shan S, Naomi W, Kavya R,
Katelyn V, Clive C, Dhweeja D Sachi G, Christine
B, Jorgen K, Peter A, Hajira A and Dalya A. In the 7th
and 8th grade the winners are: Nathan C, Shawki A,
Carlf C, Peter C, Munim, Miguel P, LuLu S, Deepak
K, Tia L, Miranda M, Zaeem M, Nardine T, Sam Z,
Hassan S, Sunny R, Vikas N, Trevor L, Alex P, Sean
F, Amir F, Alexander I, Sarah C, Hannah Y.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Future Problem Solving Piece Qualifies for State

Nardine T submitted her science fiction piece to the 2010 Future Problem Solving Scenario Writing Contest. She developed the topic of "Sensory Overload," where a child's life was turned topsy-turvy when his older brother became handicapped from a car accident. Normalcy came in the form of a neuro-implant device that allowed the older brother to regain mobility, that is, until side effects started to surface. Compounding the turmoil in the family was how the younger brother begrudged all the attention his brother was getting. This piece qualified to go on to the state level and tied for fifth piece. Congratulations!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Letters About Literature 2010

Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion contest sponsored by the Library of Congress and Target. This year over 70,000 students from grades 4-12 read a nonfiction book, short story, poem, essay, or speech and then wrote a personal letter to the author. In these 100-400 word letters, the students reflected upon the affect the piece of literature had on their lives. Students from the state of Ohio submitted over 2,400 letters; 913 of these were from fourth to sixth graders. Of these 913 entries, only 36 advanced to state level (Round 3) judging. Birchwood School's fifth and sixth graders made up one-sixth of the total students from Ohio to reach Round 3 judging. These six students include Prathna K, Vinny K, Michael T, Peter A H, Kavya R, and Katelyn V. In the next round, the 36 entries were whittled down to six semi-finalists, and once again, Birchwood students finished very strongly. Of the six top essays chosen, half were those of Birchwood students: Kavya R, Katelyn V, and Michael T. Kavya then went on to win second place in the state of Ohio for her letter to Kathryn Lasky, who wrote The Night Journey, while Katelyn earned third place for writing to Ann M. Martin, author of A Dog's Life. Congratulations to these fine students for their success with clear written expression.

Future Problem Solving 2010

After six months of hard work on three consecutive practice problems, the 5th – 8th graders held their breath while they waited for feedback on the 3rd problem: orphaned children. It had been a tough job to apply all six creative problem solving steps in just two hours with no teacher help. The teams had to wait three weeks before the news finally arrived. And arrive it did! Nine teams received an invitation to the State Bowl at Berea High School on April 23-24. They are now busy preparing on the topic of Food Distribution. (We welcome anyone who can speak on any angle of this topic.) The teams are:

Intermediate Division
LuLu, Munim, Ben, Grant, Nathan, Carlf, Shawki, Nardine, Zaeem, Deepak, Clare, Mahmoud
Susmita, Marla, Sunny, Hannah, Trevor, Alexander, Prithivi, Hassan, Nicholas, Sarah, Abhijeet, Alex

Junior Division
Nate, Naomi, Ammar, Hajira, Sachi, Grace, Alexis, Haley, Dhweeja, Vinny, Michael, Darius, Kavya, Prathna, Pheby, Marco

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Birchwood School Students Are Gold Key Winners in Scholastic Writing Awards Competition, Qualify for National Competition

CLEVELAND— Eleven budding authors from the seventh and eighth grades at Birchwood School in Cleveland are Gold Key winners in the regional Scholastic Writing Awards Competition. All of their entries are eligible for the national Scholastic competition. The seventh grade winners include Trevor L, Vikas N, and Susmita R. The eighth grade winners include Shawki A, Nathan C, Deepak K, Miranda M, Mohammad M, Yun Lu S, Nardine T, and Benjamin W.

Scholastic Writing Awards Competition was founded in 1923 and is the oldest, longest running, most prestigious recognition program for student achievement in the visual arts and creative writing in the United States. The competition is for creative teenagers in grades 7-12 from public, private and parochial schools throughout the United States and Canada, as well as American-run schools abroad, home-schooled children students and students who make art and writing through community organizations.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Power of the Pen Regional on Feb 20 at Kent State University

Congratulations to regional qualifiers:
Seventh graders - Marla B, Trevor L, Hassan S, Hannah Y
Eighth Graders - Miranda M, Lulu S, Ben W

Trevor L took home the first place trophy for seventh
graders, along with the Jane Heap Memorial Award that
included a savings bond, and a Best of Rounds.
Students who advance to the state level will compete in
Wooster College on May 21, Friday.

A big thank you to Rozina Sayed who sacrificed a Saturday
to chaperone the students.

Language Arts Competition Announcement

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.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Birchwood School Students Win Top National Honors in Cricket Magazine Contest

THE BIRCHWOOD SCHOOL
PRESS RELEASE


Feb. 11, 2010 Contact: Jim Sukys, 216-251-2321


Birchwood School Students Win Top National Honors in Cricket Magazine Contest

CLEVELAND— Six young authors from Birchwood School in Cleveland have seen their work published in the Feb. 2010 issue of Cricket magazine, a national literary publication for grade school children. Budding writers were asked to develop a story of 350 words or fewer in which the main character had a special talent or power. Birchwood students took the top three places in the ten and under age group. Third grader, Bianca H, won first place honors with her story "A Very Special Mary." Her sister, fifth grader Alexis H, placed second with a humorous tale about a terrible chef. Vinayak K won third place, and three other fifth graders earned Honorable Mention: Marco B and Amir I and Ammar M. In this national contest, these Birchwood students were the only six winners in the state of Ohio.

Cricket Magazine Group began offering top-quality children's literature over 35 years ago and now publishes a line of beautifully illustrated literary magazines for children of all ages.


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The Birchwood School is a private, coeducational school in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1984, Birchwood serves students in kindergarten through grade 8. Birchwood's mission is to provide an educational setting where challenging academics build solid work habits, an achievement culture nurtures healthy attitudes, and a caring environment forges social responsibility.

http://www.birchwoodschool.org/

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http://www.birchwoodschool.org/mainfiles/pressreleasecricketwinners21310.doc