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Issue # 39 Writing in Our Schools
New Jersey Council of Teachers of English Newsletter |
e-Focus was created by Patricia Schall and Susan Reese to keep educators informed. If you have news to share, please e-mail us at njctefocus@gmail.com |
ARCHIVES: https://www.njcte.com/e-focus-newsletter/ARCHIVES |
NJCTE 2018 Writing Contest Winners Celebrated at Reception Held at Union Catholic High School
Michele Marotta, NJCTE Writing Contest Director
Thirty-six years ago, John Kendall introduced the idea of a writing contest. Since that time the contest has survived the vicissitudes of changing mandates and shifting emphasis in the classroom.
Michele Marotta has helped the contest to grow from the days of hard copies mailed to judges to an online system that aims to improve both the submission and the judging process. She has been at the helm for over ten years.
NJCTE firmly believes that the contest is about the process and thus aims to recognize at least one writer from every school that submits at least three entries. NJCTE also believes that the classroom teacher is the most important judge in the process. Each teacher may choose and submit the 10 best entries per category. Any entries beyond the designated number are disqualified based on the submission time stamp.
This year, NJCTE received a total of 309 qualified entries from 40schools. New schools participating this year included Irvington High School, Calvary Academy, Newark Tech and Trenton Central High School. Beth Ann Bates, as Judge Liaison, reached out to judges to update their contact information. Curators Kristen Angelo (Essay), Karen Davidson, (Poetry), and Kathy Webber (Short Story) distributed the entries to judges electronically.
Our prompt this year asked students to reflect on an experience of race, ethnicity, class, religion or gender enlightenment that was significant for them. Once again the prompt was popular and teachers asked me to raise or waive the upper limit of how many students a teacher might sponsor so that more students might submit the essays they had written in response to our prompt. Unfortunately, we continue to struggle with a shortage of judges. In addition, we prefer to discourage teachers from sending us an entire set of class assigned essays.
Roberto Garcia, the guest author at the Award Reception whose poetry combines technical skill and linguistic colloquialism, encouraged the student winners to follow his example and change the question faced by all who seriously consider pursuing writing as a career from "How can I make money and write?" to "How can I write? I will make money." He chose the writing life over a career as a lawyer and has not regretted his decision. Roberto also emphasized the key role writers play in challenging the status quo and bringing a human focus to social challenges we face.
Maressa Park, a senior at Mary Help of Christians Academy, commented that she wished she could still participate in the NJCTE Writing Contest as a college student. Honored for 3 straight years for her poetry and essays, she praised the dramatic performance of the Union Catholic Forensic Team, and the high quality of the guest authors.
Kathleen Webber who teaches at Union Catholic High School has stated, "I have enjoyed being a curator for the short story entries, and the best part of the contest is meeting the student authors at the reception. I always am so impressed with the winning short stories when I read them, and I love talking to the students who wrote those stories and hearing about how they were inspired by our prompt or their life experiences."
Union Catholic High School has been a steady supporter of the contest and under host Julius Gottilla has provided a venue for the celebration. Eleven years ago a dozen attendees met in the library and listened to Peter Murphy read his work and talk about his writing process. Now 60 or more gather every April for this true celebration of Poetry Month.
--Michele Marotta
Audience of families and friends celebrating with their awardees at the 2018 Writing Contest Awards Reception
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The Union Catholic High School Admissions Office offers the following information about the school, which has been our gracious host for years.
Union Catholic High School offers each student a quality education in a faith-based, value-centered environment. Our core values of community, respect, responsibility, compassion and honesty are exemplified and modeled in all that we do, and inspire each of us to become "all God calls us to be." Union Catholic offers unique in-classroom and online learning at levels tailored to each student's strengths. Students can choose to participate in more than 50 clubs and 22 sports. The "Union Catholic Experience" allows students to develop their leadership skills and grow their individual talents for success in the real, spiritual and virtual worlds.
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NJCTE Writing Awards Mission Statement
The primary goal of the NJCTE High School Writing Contest is to encourage New Jersey students to write independently and well in response to a challenge outside of the classroom. We also provide support for teachers to help their students grow as independent thinkers and writers. We focus on guiding students to discover their voice as they draft and submit poetry, short stories, and personal essays.
Growth in self-awareness, and perseverance in visiting and re-visiting individual literary works to prepare them for entry in a competition--these are stepping stones to student success in other forms of writing and literacy, including those found in the Core Curriculum Content Standards.
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Short Story
Winner's Name
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School
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Sponsoring Teacher
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Title of Work
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Award
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Kushal Dhungana
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Livingston High School
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Mary Brancaccio
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Lost in Thought
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Gold
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Hee Jae Jung
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Tenafly High School
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Lauren Malanka
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Whole Again
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Silver
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Vani Shankar
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Bergen County Academies
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David Wilson
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Tears of Yesterday
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Silver
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Camila Fang
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Wardlaw Hartridge School
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Stephanie Cohen
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The Nature of Resentment
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Bronze
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Su Min Kim
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Bergen County Academies
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Richard Weems
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To Us, He is Eliah
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Bronze
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Gold medal winner in each genre is also recognized at the Governor's Awards in Art Education. Read here.
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Poetry
Winner's Name
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School
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Sponsoring Teacher
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Title of Work
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Award
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Madeleine Song
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Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest
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Marisa Januzzi
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Aquarius
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Gold
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Isabella Gonzalez
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Livingston High School
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Susan Rothbard
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The Weight
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Silver
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Eloisa Sablan
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Livingston High School
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Susan Rothbard
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An Almost Something: Lovefool
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Silver
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Maressa Park
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Mary Help of Christians Academy
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Elizabeth Evans
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Beautiful.
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Bronze
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Stephanie Shue
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Bergen County Academies
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Richard Weems
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Breathe
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Bronze
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Madison Wade
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Livingston High School
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Amanda Buyes
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Don't Ask Why, Ask Why Not
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Bronze
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Personal Essay
Winner's Name
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School
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Sponsoring Teacher
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Title of Work
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Award
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Swathi Kella
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Ridgewood High School
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Patricia Hans
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Family Recipe: How to Make an Indian Thanksgiving Dinner
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Gold
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Gillian Parker
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Northern Highlands Regional High School
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Brian Belluzzi
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Communion Cake and Christmas Break
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Gold
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Elyse Genrich
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Morristown High School
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Allison Janosy
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Childlike Curiosity
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Silver
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Amber Leung
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Pascack Hills High School
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Edward Sandt
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Rice Cakes can Never be Uncrustables - And That's Okay
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Silver
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Kathleen Parkhurst
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Northern Highlands Regional High School
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Philip Leib
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Handstand
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Silver
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Lauren Hirschmann
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Livingston High School
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Jessica Rivchin
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When Our Home Became Hers
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Bronze
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Sarah Lackey
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Bergen County Academies
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Richard Weems
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A Tiger in Chinatown
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Bronze
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Teachers accept for students; parents join the celebration!
NJCTE President, Audrey Fisch and NJCTE Writing Contest Director enjoy the photo opps with students.
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Guest Poet: Roberto Garcia
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Parents, teachers, and writers join NJCTE President Audrey Fisch |
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NEW JERSEY COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH
2018 HIGH SCHOOL WRITING CONTEST
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT
Winner's Name
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School
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Sponsoring Teacher
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Title of Work
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Genre
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Helaina Parejo
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Cinnaminson High School
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Amy O'Hearn
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Jenkins Road
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Short Story
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Emma Cooke
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Immaculate Heart Academy
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Sue Kenney
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Unrequited
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Poetry
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Cedrick Cantave
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Irvington High School
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Sarah Caddle
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Brooklyn
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Poetry
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Kaja Owens
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Kinnelon High School
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John Penola
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In the Straights
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Short Story
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Aidan Carter
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Madison High School
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Jason Ellrott
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Haze
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Short Story
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Naima Troutt
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Montclair High School
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Beryl Steinbach
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Life Without Orange
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Short Story
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Smruthi Sathya
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Morris County School of Technology
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Emily Bohn-Drake
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Never Again
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Poetry
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Simone Dimatteo
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Princeton Day School
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Tom Quigley
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Junk
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Poetry
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Deavihan Scott
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Rutgers Peparatory School
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Eireann Corrigan
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Ice Cream
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Poetry
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Sydney Larino
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The Calais School
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Cynthia Polles
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Challenges Led to Dreams from the Heart
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Personal Essay
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Julia Ozgar
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Union Catholic Regional High School
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John Rotondo
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What We Do at Night
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Short Story
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Alyssa Kabezian
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Vernon Township High School
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Kathy Weyant
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The Rose
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Poetry
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Celia Murphy-Braunstein
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West Orange High School
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Janine Sullivan
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A Life in Different Eyes
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Short Story
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Teachers accept awards for students who were unable to attend.
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Words from the new NJCTE President, Audrey Fisch
Thanks in particular to the gracious hospitality of Sister Percylee Hart, RSM, Principal, and NJCTE former board member and teacher, Julius Gottilla, NJCTE was able to hold our annual Writing Contest Awards.
NJCTE Writing Contest Director, Michele Marotta and Contest Host, Julius Gottilla,
at Union Catholic High School
The Writing Contest Reception was held at Union Catholic High School on April 24, 2018. As in many years past, teachers, students, family, and friends gathered to celebrate the poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction prose of some of New Jersey's finest young writers.
The writing contest is coordinated by NJCTE board member Michele Marotta, with the help of curators Kathy Webber (short story), Karen Davidson (poetry), and Kristen Angelo (personal essay). This year, NJCTE piloted our first middle school contest, coordinated by Gina Lorusso. Many, many judges volunteer their time and energy reading submissions, a task made pleasurable by the wonderful submissions we always receive. Indeed, the contest is the success that it is also because of the support of many teachers in classrooms across the state who guide and develop the young writers in their classrooms and schools.
Michele Marotta, NJCTE Writing Contest Director; Beth Ann Bates, Judge Liaison; Audrey Fisch, judge; Patricia Schall, judge, and Julius Gottilla, host.
The awards ceremony is a particular joy because of Julius' work with Union Catholic High School's Forensics Team. These young people, Molly Bonner, Cameron Guanlao, Audrey Davis, and Nick Mehno, took time out of their busy schedules to prepare and perform selections from the winning entries in each genre. Their spirited and entertaining renditions allowed the student writing to come alive for a grateful and rapt audience. (We will also be publishing, with permission, some of the winning entries from the contest, so stay tuned for those on this blog and on our NJCTE website.)
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Members of the Union Catholic Forensics Team |
The awards ceremony is a particular joy because of Julius' work with Union Catholic HS's Forensics Team. These young people, Molly Bonner, Cameron Guanlao, Audrey Davis, and Nick Mehno, took time out of their busy schedules to prepare and perform selections from the winning entries in each genre. Their spirited and entertaining renditions allowed the student writing to come alive for a grateful and rapt audience. (We will also be publishing, with permission, some of the winning entries from the contest, so stay tuned for those on this blog and on our NJCTE website.)
The ceremony always includes an engaging and inspirational keynote speaker, and this year Roberto Carlos Garcia, was no exception. He spoke about his passion for writing, his journey as both a student and a professional writer, and his confidence about the difference writing makes in our world. I can think of no better message for the next generation of New Jersey's writers of poetry and prose.
Garcia read to us from his collection of poetry, Melancolia. He also spoke to the young writers in the audience about his experience as the publisher and founder of Get Fresh Books. Perhaps one day Garcia will find himself publishing the work of one of the young people he inspired with his presentation. I know that everyone at the celebration was touched by Garcia's investment in bringing new voices to the public and in using writing as a vehicle for bringing about positive change and social justice.
If you have never encouraged your students to submit work to the contest, please consider this opportunity to help your young writers find greater recognition for their voices. We typically announce our prompts in the late summer (check the website -
www.njcte.com) and submissions are usually due mid-December. We hope to include at our fall conference a panel of teachers whose students have had success in the contest; they will share tips, tricks, suggestions, and activities. (If you are one of those teachers, please submit a response to our Call for Presentations.) (
http://bit.ly/NJCTEFall18Call)
Finally, if you want to support the writing contest as a judge, or wish to participate as curator or writing contest committee member, we welcome your contribution. This year we are reaching for the writng stars in urban districts and are seeking an assistant writing contest director to help us make this ambitious expansion. Reach out to Michele Marotta at michele.marie.marotta@gmail.com.
--Audrey Fisch
-- photos by Susan Reese
See the list of winners and the sponsoring teachers and schools here. Writing Contest Winners
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Good writers and their tool bags
Good writing comes from abundant and
diverse consumption of words, ideas,
challenges,
concepts. Reading, both good and not so good literature matters!
Good writing comes from keen observation of the world and a willingness to explore comparisons that go beyond the easy cliches.
Good writing emerges when the writer is willing to take a risk. If someone else has told the story, an attentive writer will tell a different story, or she will tell the same story from a different perspective.
Good writing benefits from conventions. These may be among the minor considerations, but a polished piece conveys the value that the writer places on the offering and makes for easier reading.
Good teachers are not only readers, they too are writers. They can empathize with the struggle that the student endures in the process. This creates a special bond.
--Susan Reese
Past NJCTE President
Past Achievement Awards in Writing Chair for NCTE
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A Judge Reflects on the Contest |
Left to right: Celia Murphy Braunstein, Janine Sullivan, and Patricia Schall
The Legacy Continues
If you enjoy writing and reading good writing, encourage your own students to submit to the NJCTE writing contest and consider becoming a judge next year.
I was proud to see my own former student, Janine Sullivan, a teacher at West Orange High School, celebrate the recognition her own student, Celia Murphy-Braunstein, earned. These are legacy moments to cherish.
--
Patricia L. Schall
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Contribute to the New Jersey English Journal
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NJCTE provides an opportunity for teachers to practice what they preach about good writing.
Visit njcte.com to find the details of the current call.
Our 2019 theme is "The Intersection of Literacy and Democracy: What role does language arts play in a free society?"
Manuscripts will be accepted for the 2019 journal between 4/1/18 & 12/15/18.
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- Liz deBeer, editor
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THE FALL CONFERENCE: ALL ABOUT WRITING AND RESPONDING TO YOUR REQUESTS |
NJCTE 2018 Fall Conference
On September 29, 2018, we will gather together at the Kenneth R. Olson Middle School in Tabernacle, NJ to focus on teaching writing, K-16.
NJCTE invites educators of all types (public, private, cyber, charter, elem. - univ., etc.) to submit session proposals to collegially share!
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NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing
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NCTE Student Writing Contest
NCTE offers an opportunity for students in grade 11 to respond to a as well to submit a portfolio of their best writing. Check out this contest designed to engage students throughout the country.
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Teachers Write: Let's Hear Your Voices!
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Time to write!
Teachers Are Writers Too!
The NJCTE
Focus
staff dedicated this whole issue to the NJCTE Writing Contest and the importance of student writing. Now, we want to encourage teachers to write too.
We know you have full and busy lives, but there are so many opportunities for you to make your voices heard too. We invite you to consider submitting a short article to
Focus. It could be something as simple as a successful lesson plan you would like to share or a brief reflection on something that moves you about teaching and learning.
Don't forget the six-word story requests we used to launch NJCTE Project Spark. It won't take long to write six words describing what lights your teaching fires.
Need some advice? Check out "
Office Hours," our recently launched column in the NJCTE Blog. Ask a question. Offer some of your own suggestions in the comments section.
You might consider submitting an article to the
New Jersey English Journal
. The editors look for all kinds of submission, from articles about practice to poetry to brief personal essays. Watch
njcte.com
for submission guidelines.
Even if you just comment on some of the blogs or news sources you follow or write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, you are writing. The public needs to hear from teachers. Don't let others do all the talking for you.
Share your ideas with others and keep your writing fires burning. Donald Murray, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer about writing, used to keep a sign by his desk stating, "Never a Day without a line." Let's hear from you!
--Patricia L. Schall
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*MEMBERSHIP: Membership is $25 annually, and runs from April 1 to March 31. Send questions about membership to
NJCTEmembership@gmail
.com.
The NJCTE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) professional organization dedicated to educational and beneficial purposes. NJCTE fosters excellence in English language arts by helping develop academic and professional expertise in instruction at all levels, and by recognizing the worthy endeavors of students and their teachers.
We want to recognize all those members who invite a friend or a colleague to join NJCTE. Please let us know that you are a member who embraces our mission and shares our passion.
Send an email to njctepresident@gmail.com
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Make NJCTE Your Professional Home
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Make NJCTE Your Professional Home in New Jersey
The New Jersey Council of Teachers of English (NJCTE) is the New Jersey affiliate organization of The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The NCTE and NJCTE are different organizations with different memberships and separate dues.
We invite teachers, administrators and friends of English/language arts to join us. We encourage our members to dedicate their time to participate and make a difference in their own professional lives and the lives of their fellow teachers and students.
Consider the Benefits of Joining
Members of NJCTE receive the following:
- NJCTE's digital newsletter, E-FOCUS
- The New Jersey English Journal, an annual publication of NJCTE
- Reduced (sometimes FREE!) admission to conferences and workshops
- Professional development opportunities through volunteering for committees and events, judging the writing contest, and much more!
- Networking opportunities and idea exchanges with a diverse group of teachers throughout the state
- Local, more affordable events, with workshops at the NJEA Convention and conferences frequently offered on weekends to avoid problems with substitute teacher coverage.
Visit our
Website and sign up online through PayPal, or download the membership form to sign up by check or money order by mail.
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T
he woes of "disembodied academic prose," as Peter Elbow aptly characterized this discourse so familiar to English majors!
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e-Focus - New Jersey Council of Teachers of English - 732-267-2838 - http:// www.njcte.com jctefocus@gmail.com
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