NCTE Promising Young Writers Designation JMS Students

On November 9, forty-three eighth graders began writing for the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Promising Young Writers Program in response to the theme they were given.  Of those, thirty students put forth the necessary effort and time, completed the writing sample, and turned in a copy for evaluation. This year’s prompt was both challenging and open-ended. Sophia Fabonic and Lucy Moon were selected as the two finalists from JMS.  Sophia and Lucy composed insightful, original pieces that showed authentic voice. These students spent over a month revising their papers which were then submitted to NCTE for evaluation in the state competition. “National judges evaluated each piece of writing for expression of ideas, language use, and unique perspective and voice...This year, schools nominated 177 students to participate in the Promising Young Writers Program. Students were nominated from 33 states and Puerto Rico, as well as Canada and South Africa.” Congratulations to Sophia and Lucy! Sophia Fabyonic is one of four students in the state of Pennsylvania to receive a First Class designation for her entry, and Lucy Moon has been recognized with a Superior designation. JMS is very proud of these writers!