Young authors have the 'write stuff'

Future scribes scribbled their way to several awards last week when students from Encampment, Medicine Bow, and Saratoga were announced as the 2015 District Young Authors Winners for Carbon County School District #2 (CCSD#2).

The Wyoming Young Authors contest is a writing contest for grades Kindergarten through 12th grade and is sponsored by the Wyoming Reading Council. Students are invited to write original, creative non-fiction, fiction and poetry.

According to Encampment english teacher Leslie McLinskey, "The Young Authors competition has been a tradition in CCSD#2 for many years and we have had very successful students in the past."

It appears as though this year is no different as several students from all three participating schools were named winners by the district judges and selected to move on to state competition.

"I am very proud of our students. We had six stories place and two of them went on to state," said Medicine Bow teacher Shelly Cooper of her student's achievements. Cooper went on to relate what a positive experience the contest has been for her and her students saying, "We laughed and shared our lives together as each child went through the writing process.  What a joy it has been for me to see the progress that these kids have made as learners and classroom citizens."

McLinskey wanted to pass on congratulations to all of the young writers who worked so hard on their pieces and also wanted to give, "A big thank-you to all of the judges who helped with the reading."

Summer Broadwater from Medicine Bow won 1st place in Kindergarten Non-Fiction with her piece entitled Big Sucker Fish; Raden Miller from Encampment placed 2nd with Poker Run, and Kannan Gilbert from Encampment took 3rd place with The Wrestling Tournament.

In First Grade Fiction the winners were Madi Dunning from Encampment taking 1st place with her story, The Unicorn; Samantha Anderson from Encampment with Ceradilly; and Cassidy Herring from Encampment with Thorn.

The First Grade Non-Fiction winners were Kolby Olsen of Medicine Bow in 1st place with her piece, Chalk: A Black Calf; Owen Bezzant from Medicine Bow took 2nd place with My Lego Land, and Mikayla Johnson from Medicine Bow took 3rd place with her tasty instruction manual entitled, How to Make the Greatest PBJ Ever!

The Second Grade Fiction Winners were Josie Little from Encampment who took 1st place with The Jellyfish, Eckerley Pickett from Encampment placed 2nd with No Good Very Bad Day, and Jeannine Lamoureux from Encampment won 3rd place with, The Deserted School.

The Second Grade Non-Fiction winners were Rainey Powell from Encampment with Pompeii, Cody Priest from Medicine Bow with The Antelope Hunt, and Hyrum Heward from Medicine Bow with his 3rd place piece, Haying Season.

Third Grade Fiction winners were Logan Robinson from Encampment in 1st place with his story, The Attacks of 9/11; Kaben Pickett from Encampment placed 2nd with Fishing Spirit Lake 1980; and Ellie Dugger from Encampment with her 3rd place story, Halloween Night in the Graveyard.

Third Grade Non-Fiction winners were Ryon Miller from Encampment in 1st place with Goofy Goats; Marilee Williams from Saratoga took 2nd with Chicken Poxed Charlie, and Makenna King took 3rd with My Adventures of Life.

The Third Grade Poetry winner was Solveig Hanks, who took 1st place with his poem, All Around the World.

In Fourth Grade Fiction, the winners were Makenzie Sheils from Saratoga in 1st place with, My Great Adventure; Cora Schroder from Encampment took 2nd place with, A Special Friendship, and Allison Bromley from Encampment placed 3rd with her piece titled, My Brother the Alien.

Fourth Grade Non-Fiction winners were Allison Bromley in 1st place with, Stitches; Calvin Condict from Saratoga took 2nd with his piece, Nebraska White Tail Hunt, and Grady Bartlett from Encampment took 3rd place with, Hay Smasher.

Fourth Grade Poetry winners were Cora Schroder in 1st place with Magical Rainbows; Makenzie Sheils in 2nd with her collection entitled, A Few Poems for Me and You, and Deke Herring from Encampment took 3rd place with his, Supertastic Holiday Poems.

In Seventh Grade Fiction, the winners were Jarom Herring from Encampment in 1st place with his Native American tale, Kankakee; Riley Little from Encampment in 2nd place with The Stranger, and Katie Russel from Encampment in 3rd place with, A Soldier's Welcome Home.

Tenth Grade Poetry winners were Emily Morgan from Encampment with her poetry collection, People of Circumstance; Ariana McKinney from Encampment took 2nd place with her poem, Down A Rabbit's Hole, and Konnar Knotwell from Encampment took 3rd place with, Small Town Life.