Contest yields prizewinning prose

PHOTO BY matt nagle

Before heading off to their summer adventures, a group of Surprise Lake Middle School (SLMS) students were recognized for their creative talents in this year’s writing contest. Ten winners were selected from more than 60 entries in three categories: short story, poetry and persuasive essay.

Organized by language arts and literature teacher Charlie Hollis, and judged by an independent panel of five adults from the community, the contest was open to any student that wanted to enter. All 10 winners received a $15 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, and the three first-place winners, one in each category, also received a $25 gift certificate to Regal Cinemas to enjoy during their summer vacations. Eleven more contestants received honorable mention.

Sixth-grader JuliaAnne Cook took top prize in poetry for her work “A Simple Poem,” about a complicated subject – ending the war in Iraq. The young writer said she was inspired when her mom, a soldier in the U.S. Army for 18 years, was almost deployed to Iraq. “I had never done any contest before so I thought I’d try,” Cook said. She writes: “Is it possible that I can end the war/ and bring the soldiers home/ by putting all my heart/ into a single poem?/ The honor would be divine/ even though I am small/ to end the bloody battle/ and touch the hearts of all.”

In the persuasive essay category, seventh-grader Elizabeth Montefusco was awarded first place for “The Late Work Policy,” in which she argues in favor of establishing clear, workable policies for submitting one’s work past its due date. Her point in the essay is that such policies should be established to encourage positive character traits like being responsible and dependable rather than to allow procrastinators to make their school, or workplace, look bad.

Amber Anderson, sixth-grade, emerged a first-place winner for her five-chapter short story titled “Dark Love.” A dramatic love story with castles, covens and an eerie forest, she described the story as “being about Romeo and Juliet but twisted a little bit,” for her lead characters are vampires. Anderson said she loves to write. “I never entered a contest before so I’m kind of shocked that I won,” she said.    

Last but not least, sixth-grader Jayme Levine-Matthews won the special Crudo Hollis Award for his poem “The Haunted House.”

Keep an eye on the SLMS website, http://www.fifeschools.com/slms, where you can read these students’ writings and learn more about all the success stories young learners are achieving at Surprise Lake Middle School.

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