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Webutuck students get work published

Webutuck students get work published
Certificates in hand, Webutuck High School senior Carrissa Whitehead, left, and junior Morgan Sprague celebrated the publication of their work in the Young Writers Contest held this past October. Photo submitted

WEBUTUCK — Challenging themselves to craft original compositions, Webutuck High School (WHS) students Carrissa Whitehead and Morgan Sprague were excited to learn the “mini-sagas” they submitted to the Young Writers Contest last October were selected for publication.

Aimed at promoting literacy in children, Young Writers maps out creative writing contests every year for students in elementary through high school.

According to its website, www.youngwritersusa.com, the scholastic publication believes having work published “boosts confidence, nurtures creativity and showcases talent.”

Included in the 2021 featured contests for middle and high school students, Young Writers invited students ages 10 to 18 to submit their work to “Unsolved,” a contest challenging students to write a “mini-saga.”

The mini-saga was defined as a story told in just 100 words inspired by the crime and mystery genre.

As a source of inspiration, Young Writers offered eight sentence starters to help get the creative juices flowing for students.

As an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher at Webutuck, Jenna Garofalo said she offers any contest that comes across her desk to all of her students. She sometimes offers extra credit to encourage student participation.

In the past, Garofalo has offered writing contests for Martin Luther King Day as well as Thanksgiving Day writing contests issued by State Senator Sue Serino’s (R-41) office.

In addition to the writing included in the curriculum mandated by the New York State Modules that the North East (Webutuck) Central School District must follow, Garofalo said she always encourages creative writing among her students. She added some students also thrive as free-verse writers during their class journal assignments.

For the Young Writers Contest offered last fall, Garofalo said Carrissa and Morgan were the only students at Webutuck who wanted to participate.

A senior at WHS, Carrissa submitted her story, “Guilty” while Morgan, a junior at WHS, submitted her story, “Halloween Robbery.”

Garofalo — impressed with both students’ stories — submitted their work in late October 2021. And out of more than 8,000 entries the contest received, Young Writers chose Carrissa’s and Morgan’s mini-sagas for publication.

Garofalo was recently informed of how well her students did and the impressive outcome of the contest a few weeks ago, when she received a package from the publication. It contained a letter about the students’ award, their certificates and parent permission forms so that their work could be published.

Asked how they reacted to the news, Garofalo said they were thrilled.

“Both girls were excited, happy and immediately had a smile on their faces when I presented them with the certificates… Both of their moms were also very proud.”

Reflecting on what her students’ accomplishments mean to her as an ELA teacher, Garofalo said she also is especially pleased.

“Naturally, as a teacher, when I see students going above and beyond their coursework to use their creative minds and enter contests, write for fun, or create their own stories, it is inspiring and brings me great joy,” she said, adding it’s a triumph as a teacher. “The fact that two of my students’ work will be published is a highlight of my entire teaching career. I am so incredibly proud of these hardworking young ladies. They deserve the praise and recognition.”

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