National Writing Project in New Hampshire

The National Writing Project in New Hampshire is pleased to announce that the Scholastic Writing Contest/Middle High School Voices judging has been completed.  Out of almost 400 entries, our panel of judges has selected 16 gold key winners, 70 silver keys and 85 honorable mentions.  We received writing from students in grades 7-12 from all areas of the state.   The writing this year was exceptionally strong.  Our 16 gold key winners will have their work considered for awards at the national level.   These winners are:

Owen Ammann, Helen Copp, Alexander Ireland, and Emma Sassaman from Oyster River Middle School

Anna Deloi (2 pieces) who is home-schooled.

Hannah Eaton from Coe-Brown Northwood Academy

June Han, Christina Lee,  Zachary Young and Catherine Zhu from Phillips Exeter Academy

Karlee Paradis from Newmarket Junior/Senior High School

Hunter Rief from Oyster River High School

Alicia Sanders-Zakre  (2 pieces) from Concord High School.

Seunghyun Yeo from Moultonborough Academy

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this contest, and to the teachers who worked with them to revise and edit their work.

The National Writing Project in New Hampshire is sponsoring a special focus institute held in conjunction with the Peterborough Historical Society.  The sessions will be held at the Peterborough Historical Society, 19 Grove Street in Peterborough on the following Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.: December 1st, January 5^h, February 2^nd, March 9^th, and April 6^th.

Literature of Place will explore how to use writing and literature to examine the history, culture and ecology of the place in which we live. Literature selections include Amos Fortune: Free Man, Our Town, and Our Nig, all with significance to the Monadnock Region. This institute will introduce the many different aspects of place-based writing. Prior participants in “Writing our Communities” institutes are welcome, but no prior participation is required. Participants will develop instructional units appropriate to their teaching or work situations, explore the use of artifacts in their lives and in our history and culture, and examine how these reflect relationships of power.

This institute is appropriate for educators in all disciplines at all grade levels as well as community members involved in working with children or schools.  Through readings, demonstrations, and activities, participants will learn strategies and activities to implement place-based learning into their particular classes.

The cost of the institute is $350; districts sending 6 or more participants can pay $300 per person. Three graduate credits from Plymouth State University are available at the reduced rate of  $165 per credit and a $25 registration fee.

Instructors and facilitators for this series are Peterborough native Meg Petersen, Director of the National Writing Project in New Hampshire, and local retired educator Jill Lawler, a teacher consultant with NWPNH.  For more information contact Meg Petersen at megjoanna@gmail.com. To register return the bottom to the address printed below. We look forward to working with you.  Registration form available here.

Meg Petersen                                                                                       Jill Lawler

megjoanna@gmail.com                                                                                   jilltlawler@gmail.com

This spring, the National Writing Project in New Hampshire sponsored a writing workshop for 6th-8th grade students at the Campton Public Library.  Click here to read some of the writing from that workshop.

The National Writing Project in New Hampshire has partnered with the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards to provide opportunities for New Hampshire’s middle and high school students to publish their writing in our Middle and High School Voices publication and to have their writing compete at a regional and national level.   You can go to www.artandwriting.org for more information on the contest.

Links to last year’s Middle/High School Voices Book can be found here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/national-writing-project-in-new-hampshire/middle-high-school-voices-2012/paperback/product-20056299.html