"A Year Without A Winter" Contest

Wow! Did we have a wonderful turnout this quarter! It took a very long screening process to finish reading the fantastic and imaginative concoctions that all you magnificent writers came up with. Thanks for the great entertainment and for sharing you ideas with us. We encourage you to keep the writing coming, and we look foward to reading your next story in the upcoming summer contest!

We asked students to think about the effects of global warming today.  The changes may not be so noticeable now, maybe just an inch or two of growth in the sea levels, and a slight change in temperature.  Yet years from now, the whole planet and everything on it will be affected.  Who knows what the possibilities may be if these harmful effects are not tended to…The stories ranged in everything from science fiction to futuristic memoirs. And here were the results--

YouthInkwell would like to congratulate the following winners of the "Year Without A Winter" Writing Contest:

Trinity, grade 5
1st place
Sierra Madre School, Ms. Ogron

Paloma Lamb, grade 5
1st place
Sierra Madre School, Ms. Ogron

Ron Corvino, grade 5
Runner-Up
Sierra Madre School, Ms. Ogron

Cristian Vargas, grade 5
Runner-Up
Washington Accelerated Elementary, Mrs. Veas

Robbie Eastland, grade 5
Honorable Mention
Sierra Madre School, Ms. Ogron

Oscar Gonzalez, grade 5
Honorable Mention
Sierra Madre School, Ms. Ogron

Halloween Scary Story Contest

YouthInkwell wants to thank everyone who participated! We had a great turnout, but that left us with a tough decision to make...

This Halloween, we wanted to hear the scariest story our youth had to offer. However, we wanted our writers to describe the frightening things that exist in our environment today. Because of factors like global warming and the release of gas emissions into the air, our environment is now at risk, and that is pretty creepy to us. The contest required that entrants must currently be enrolled in grades 4-12, the stroy must be 500 words or less, and most importantly, they had to produce a scary story concerning any environmental issues of their choice.

We loved all the creative stories all you young writers out there sent us. We would like to congratulate the following winners for their work:

David Ortez, 4th grade
First Place
Altadena Elementary
"A Big Mistake"

Kaitlin Liston, 5th grade
First Place
Sierra Madre School
"The Jungle Journey"

Antonae Dismuke, 4th grade
Runner Up
Altadena Elementary
"The News"

Paloma Lamb, 5th grade
Runner Up
Sierra Madre School
"Mary Margarite"

Alexa Lozano, 5th grade
Honorable Mention
Washington Accelerated School
"A Graveyard"

Jacqueline Peterson, 5th grade
Honorable Mention
Washington Accelerated
"O.P.E.C."

Nichole Melendez, 5th grade
Honorable Mention
Washington Accelerated
"Overweight"

YouthInkwell would like to give a special thanks to Altadena Elementary Principal Gregory White and 4th Grade teacher Ms. Molt for their tremendous generosity and support, and for welcoming us to their school in honor of the contest recipients. We were very impressed by all the participants of the contest from Altadena Elementary's classes, especially their wall of 'Halloween Scary Stories' posted on the corridor walls. Their showmanship possesses the type of energy that YouthInkwell is looking for. Congratulations to all the winners!!

"How to Cook with a Pencil" Contest

Congratulations to you all!!

Annie Wong, age 17
Arcadia, CA

Annie was nominated by her mother for her efforts to help the people in her community and beyond. Annie donated ten inches of her hair to "Locks for Love" to raise money for cancer research, and she is currently growing out her hair so that she may donate again. Annie, a member of her school's Hope Can Cure Cancer Club, has also participated in Arcadia's "Relay for Life," and the Church of the Good Shepherd's "Crop Walk" a total of three times to raise money to stop world hunger. She also has participated in World Vision's "30 Hour Famine." Annie is an inspiration not only to the community of Arcadia, but also to the world around her.

Tevin Morgan and April Wilson, age 12
Portsmouth, VA

Nominated by their teacher Ms. Tolson, Tevin and April are both 6th graders from Douglass Park Elementary school. They spend their free time volunteering in the "Book Buddies" program for the past two years. They work one on one with first graders in reading, and teach reading and writing skills twice a week to their assigned 'buddies.' Tevin and April are two bright young people who strive for excellence in their education and work hard to help others do the same.

Alyssa Bernier, age 8
Portsmouth, VA

Mrs. Hughes of Westhaven Elementary sent us a nomination for Alyssa and won our hearts immediately. The second grader dedicates some of her time away from school as "Candy the Clown" and volunteers at local hospitals with her grandmother, Katie "Snickerdoodle." They cheer up patients with magic tricks and stickers. Alyssa has been helping bring joy and laughter to patients since she was two years old, and she will continue to usde her charm and sweetness to make the people around her feel happy again.

Isabel Davila, age 11
Gardena, CA

Isabel, a 6th grader from Gardena, CA, wrote to us herself to let us know how she has been cooking with a pencil for her own community. Isabel came up with the idea to have a used book sale to raise money for her little sister's elementary school. She helped collect books from the community, price them and sell them at the book sale. This incredibly self-motivated young girl embodies the spirit of 'cooking with a pencil.'

Do you want to partipate in YouthInkwell Writing Contests? Click here to see YouthInkwell's latest contest!