Five Memorial High seniors and one sophomore have been named regional winners in the annual Scholastic Writing competition sponsored by the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE). These students and their English/Language Arts teachers will be honored with a special awards night presentation and reception in early February at HCDE’s main administration building. Top student works will compete in Scholastic’s national writing contest.

 

Named as Gold Key Scholastic writing winners are sophomore Linh Tran Do and seniors Amrita Vir and Emily Walls. Linh Tran won for a 2-page story in the short short category for “Spirit of the Mountain,” in which a tiger is threatened by poachers. In the journalism category, Amrita is honored for an editorial about recent events in Jena, La., and racial tension in America. The editorial is headlined “Something’s Rotten in the State of Louisiana.” Emily’s award-winning poem is titled “Song of Ngong.”

 

Winning Silver Key writing awards are seniors Dhruv Gupta, Kate Phillips and Tevie Son. In the journalism category, Dhruv has been honored for an article about the teaching of evolution and natural selection, titled “Evolution and School Curricula.” Kate’s poem, “Earthshine,” describes the beauty of a moonlit ocean as it invokes the romance and adventure of epic Norse poetry. “Project Armageddon,” in the science fiction/fantasy category, involves a young man who sacrifices his life for the sake of revenge and, in so doing, loses his own identity.

 

Memorial High English/Language Arts teachers who instruct these students are Laura Kohlmaier, Todd McCardle, Patti Nommensen and Marjorie Schnell.