Scholastic Journalism Awards

Writing Category

First Place

Tomas McLaughlin

Blessed Sacrament School

The Mustard Seed

"This is a well done story that is filled with facts, yet still manages to have a flow to it, so the reader doesn’t feel bombarded by fact after fact.   The first paragraph nicely sets up the story in a simple, direct fashion, which is the best way to get into this type of story.  The reader may wonder why the fix-up of the church is necessary, and right on cue, the author of this piece answers that question for the reader, adding in some history about the church, again in the very solid, simple style that works so well here.  There’s a good use of vocabulary – '

'illuminate', for instance. The punctuation appears flawless, suggesting a thorough editing process, which is necessary for any story.  Overall, a very professional job done by a middle school student – impressive!"

Second Place

Danielle Rizzini

Riverside Middle School

The Viking Press

'Why Lunch Needs Some Serious Help'

"The lead really packs a good punch.  'It’s 12 o’clock.'  That was the first sentence. It sets a tone right away, and gets the reader to the next sentence, which is the writer’s job – to lead the reader from one sentence to the next. The lead to the story continues.  “You can already smell the aroma of greasy foods and salty popcorn.”  Can’t the reader relate to this? Can’t the reader smell those smells being described? Well done – nice use of words here to continue to bring the reader into the story.  And as the article goes on, the point is made clear – lunch needs help. The writer’s opinion here is articulated well at the beginning, and supported in the body of the article, with nice graphically written (“hair in the food”) points that back up the writer’s opinion. The article is summed up well at the end, too.  Punctuation seems to be in fine order. And, as stated earlier, the word pictures being drawn by the writer are first-rate."

Third Place

Kathrine Barnes,

Ferri Middle School

Jaguar Journal

 'Middle School Experience'

"It is not easy to crystallize three years of a school experience into a six-stanza poem, but Kathrine has done a fine job of that here.   Any student who is getting ready to graduate from the middle school no doubt will be able to identify with the images drawn here. 'Which class is this? Where’s my room?' Those are universal fears.  Then, through the stanzas, it’s easy to see how the middle school experience grows and changes, with the students growing in so many ways over the years.   I also like the humor in the final stanza, which, in essence, says 'good luck,' to the next crop of eighth graders from the knowing point of view of someone who has been there and done that."