Three Newton County School System (NCSS) students won first place awards in the 2023 Young Georgia Authors Regional Writing Competition! The students’ entries were judged against submissions by students from school systems throughout the Griffin RESA Region, including Butts, Fayette, Henry, Lamar, Pike, Spalding, and Upson school systems.
Students participating in the contest could submit entries in the form of short stories, poetry, essay, research reports, or other original student writing. Submissions were judged on four domains as reflected in the Georgia Standards of Excellence—ideas, organization, cohesiveness, and language.
Newton County Theme School student
Carlos Pena Martinez won first place in the fourth-grade competition with his submission, “
Linivious.” At the high school level, Newton College & Career Academy student,
Brianna Ryan earned top honors in the tenth-grade competition with her entry entitled, “
Defender of Azalea” while Eastside student
Jayda Payne took home first place honors in the 11th-grade contest with her submission, “
I Lie.”
Each student’s work will now be submitted into the state competition. The purpose of the Young Georgia Authors writing competition is to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics.
“Congratulations to each of our regional winners on a job well done,” said NCSS Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey. “Writing skills are crucial, as the ability to write well can be the ticket to better grades and greater academic achievement. We definitely have some very talented writers in our school system; I wish each of our winners the very best in the state competition!”