WMS students refining writing even during summer

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WILMINGTON — Youngsters are spending part of their summer continuing to learn about the power of the pen.

Once a week for the past six months, Wilmington Middle School students met as the Writing Middle School group to write for fun, and even took part in a mini-writing contest.

The club is modeled after the Ohio competitive writing initiative Power of the Pen and has seen between 15 to 25 writers from seventh and eighth grades in the group, according to Tammy Sexton, former WMS English teacher.

The tournament had the youths participating in three rounds of writing, with each writing piece being scored and ranked by Sexton and Laura Besser, a sixth-grade teacher.

The winners were eighth-grader Vanessa Calderone in round one, eighth-grader Brianna Brunke in round two, and seventh-grader Lindsay Lydy in round three.

Sexton told the News Journal that the kids were presented with two to three writing prompts — generally designed to spark a narrative type of story — and would be given 30 to 40 minutes to write it, then share it.

“This is an opportunity for students who like to write to meet and support each other,” said Sexton. “Students are given an opportunity to share their thoughts and writings in a creative environment. Through the years many of these writers continue on to be involved in the high school newspaper. A few have even gone on to have careers in journalism.”

Sexton hopes that a writing forum of some type continues on in one form or another as it has over the last 20 years.

From left are: top row, Reagen Reese, Taliah Billingsley, Vanessa Calderone, Alice Clair and Joselyn Kessler; bottom row, Jamie Stubbs, Rylee Ward, Sophie Rose, Charlotte Housh, Kalli Abbitt, Brianna Brunke, Addison Beckett and Lindsay Lydy.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/07/web1_WMS-writers-photo.jpgFrom left are: top row, Reagen Reese, Taliah Billingsley, Vanessa Calderone, Alice Clair and Joselyn Kessler; bottom row, Jamie Stubbs, Rylee Ward, Sophie Rose, Charlotte Housh, Kalli Abbitt, Brianna Brunke, Addison Beckett and Lindsay Lydy. Courtesy photo
Participate in group to polish skills

By John Hamilton

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