Young Writer’s Contest 2007
June 08, 2007
Santa Paula News
By Brenda deJamaer
The 27th annual Santa Paula Elementary School District’s Young Writers’ Contest yielded 98 winners, from grades 1 through 8. The young, creative writers received their awards at a special awards ceremony held the evening of May 23 at the Isbell School Cafeteria. Brenda deJamaer, Library Educational Specialist, coordinated the contest and made the award presentations. Prizes were awarded in both poetry and short story categories.The students wrote about friends, family, pets, feelings, sports, aliens, and school. A big “Thank You” goes out to the 13 judges who gave their time and expertise to the task of judging this year’s writing competition. The imagination and creativity of these young writers provided quite a challenge for the judges. The judges were Julia Copeland, Leslie Borchard and Jeri Mead from the school district; Rosann Mears, Connie Bennett, Tim Rainville, Gloria Clemence, Chris Buchanan and Phyllis Dorsey, who are school district retirees; Ilene Gavenman and Bev Mueller from Blanchard Community Library; Suzi Skutley from the Santa Paula Times and Teri Rhodehamel, a published poet, from the community.Refreshments of cake and punch were provided and served by the Santa Paula Federation of Teachers for the winners and their families at the awards ceremony. The cash prizes were provided by Pat Alderson with a donation this year from the Santa Paula Elementary Chapter of Classified School Employees and Mr. Jerry Burns, Santa Paula Elementary School District retiree.GRADE 1 POETRY1st – Dustin Brown, “Winter” 2nd – Kamile Fargher, “Spring” 3rd – Jose Barajas, “My Mother” Hon. Men. – Emily Phelps, “Sit In Your Seat”; Jacob Molina, “Blue Jam”; Victoria Salazar, “My Cat” GRADE 1 STORY1st – Deven Leon, “4th of July” 2nd – TIE Kate Ruiz, “A Day at the Park”; Isabel Valle, “The Wizard and the Dog”3rd – Emily Phelps, “Foxy and the Leopard”Hon. Men. – Raylene Calderon, “The Three Birds”; Tobin Fincher, “The Adventures of Goopy”; Victoria Salazar, “The Worker Bee” GRADE 2 POETRY1st – Sarai Balderas, “Martin Luther King, Jr.” 2nd – Chris Guillen, “Butterflies” 3rd - Dawson Carter, “Butterflies” Hon. Men. – Marisa Valverde, “Butterflies”; Midori Lee, “I Love Puppies”; Georgia Tinsley, “Eleanore” GRADE 2 STORY1st – Laura Fernandez, “Yellow Flower & The Grizzly Bear” 2nd – Tristan Gonzales, “The World is a Mystery” 3rd – Moises Parra, “The Magic Pencil” Hon. Men. – Rosa Maria Deciga, “Amelia’s Magic Jacket”; Juana Duran, “Tricks”; Josue Rodriquez, “Juan Carlos, the Snowman”; Brenda Delgado, “Making New Friends”GRADE 3 POETRY1st – Taylor Madden, “Somewhere” 2nd – Diana Del Rio, “The Wolf Creeps at Night” 3rd – Justin Lucio, “Only Kid on Earth” Hon. Men. – Simone Soriano, “Rainbows”; Jacob Lopez, “Mr. Griddle”; Nicole Alvarado, “Birds”; Eduardo Flores, “I am a tree” GRADE 3 STORY1st – Taylor Madden, “Irish Eyes” 2nd – Alyssa Bustos, “The Magic Dog” 3rd – Justin Lucio, “The Space 3: Trip to Venus” Hon Men. – Liliana Gonzales, “The Planet Pluto”; Perla Montalvo, “The Fox & the Witch”; Alyssa Soto, “The King’s Crown” GRADE 4 POETRY1st – Dania Flores, “Autumn Fun” 2nd – Joseph Garcia, “Falling Leaves” 3rd – Emeli Valencia, “Dance” Hon. Men. – Robert Tamayo, “Dragonflies”; Johanna Contreras, “Bad Day”; Roxanne Zamora, “Natural Resource”; Alyssa Frutos, “Roses” GRADE 4 STORY1st – Jordan Tinsley, “The Elevator”
2nd – Brandon Urrutia, “The Dream???” 3rd – Yesenia Arredondo, “Cinderman” Hon. Men. – Joey Llamas, “The Flying Shoes”; Jennifer Magana, “Do Animals Talk”; Henry Arballo, “When Javier Digs to China”; Maria Alonzo, “Martin, a Special Friend”; Diego Tinajero, “Karate Lessons” GRADE 5 POETRY1st – Elizabeth Fernandez, “Tardy” 2nd – Jose Tapia, “Thing” 3rd – Zoe Appleby, “The Wolf” Hon. Men. – Janet Tinoco, “A Diary”; Conor Kruse, “Holidays”; Nicholas Chavez, “The Tree”; Marcela Fernandez, “A Tree”; Heaven Smythe, “These Men” GRADE 5 STORY1st – Heaven Smythe, “The True Story of Mrs. Sippi & Mr. Sippi”2nd – Niki Spencer, “Sputnik from Outer Space” 3rd – Elizabeth Fernandez, “Lone Pup Island” Hon. Men. – Jennifer Gaytan, “Vacation Luck”; Zoe Appleby, “The Bermuda Mystery”; Daisy Duran, “My Best Friend”; Jocelyn Lemus, "The Lost Puppy” ; Yahaira Valencia, “The Great Escape of the 2 Best Friends”; Carlos Martinez, “We Come In Peace”; Tristan Poynter, “The Vacation” GRADE 6 POETRY1st – Eddie Macarena, “I’m a Volcano” 2nd – Marissa Enriquez, “My Best Friend” 3rd – Angelica Rodriquez, “When the Sun Sets”Hon. Men. – Taylor Rabago, “Butterflies”; Rebecca Suggs, “Summer”GRADE 6 STORY1st – Diana Xicotencatl, “The Family” 2nd – Kaylee Rodriquez, “A Girl That Changed Inside & Out”3rd – TIE Kaylee Brown, “Dark Angels”; Christian Cordova, “The Adventures of Snowball”Hon. Men. – Taylor Rabago, “Fish Friends” GRADE 7 POETRY1st – Madison Collie, “A Poem” 2nd – Lilli McKinney, “You’ll Know I’m There” 3rd – Angela Valencia, “Dreams” Hon. Men. – Devynn Flores, “Am I That Strange & Different” GRADE 7 STORY1st – Jessica Salcido, “A Valuable Lesson” 2nd – Edward Alamillo, “Rover’s Day Out” 3rd – TIE Jairo Hernandez, “Dino Day”; Angela Valencia, “Runaway”Hon. Men. – Lilli McKinney, “Good Morning Lilli Belle”; Joey Gutierrez, “Mystery Park”GRADE 8 POETRY1st – Angelica Terrazas, “Life” 2nd – Miguel Valdovinos, “None” 3rd – Carolina Martinez, “My Nephew” Hon. Men. – Nicolas Beltran, “United We Stand”; Jacqueline Garcia, “The Wonderful Things in Life”; Armando Rivera, “The Flower”