Cherokee Schools Honors Young Authors State Winners

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Two Cherokee County School District students have earned statewide honors in the Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition.

The annual writing contest is open to students in grades kindergarten through 12th and provides an opportunity for schools to encourage writing in a variety of genres. Each Cherokee County school submitted a top entry for each grade level to compete at the district level. The district winners then advanced to regional competition for the opportunity to compete statewide, and state contest entries were judged over the summer break.

Mountain Road Elementary School fifth-grader Halley Jurnack won first-place for Fourth Grade at the State level for her story, “A Camel’s Tale”; and Woodstock High School senior Sophia Abbott earned Honorable Mention for 11th grade at the State level for her story, “In Cold Blood.” Both of their award-winning stories are posted on the district's website.

They along with six other students placed at the regional competition. The other regional winners from Cherokee County are: first place, kindergarten, Alexander Cantrell of Carmel Elementary; sixth grade, Aahana Karangi of E.T. Booth Middle; 10th grade, Alison Eltz of Sequoyah High; and 12th grade, Chelsea Mandel of Creekview High; honorable mention, fifth grade, Andrew Heydt of Clark Creek STEM Academy, and seventh grade, Emily Cruse of Teasley Middle.

Cherokee Schools' first-place district winners (this list notes their grade and school for last school year):

• Kindergarten: Alexander Cantrell of Carmel ES for “Superboy”
• First Grade: Joseph Lenyszyn of Hickory Flat ES for “Gabrisha”
• Second Grade: Avery Miller of Avery ES for “Mad Lab”
• Third Grade: Mary Ratcliff Lee of Bascomb ES for “A Softball Situation”
• Fourth Grade: Halley Jurnack of Mountain Rd ES for “A Camel’s Tale”
• Fifth Grade: Andrew Heydt of Clark Creek STEM Academy for “The Tapping”
• Sixth Grade: Aahana Karangi of E.T. Booth MS for “The Human Body”
• Seventh Grade: Emily Cruse of Teasley MS for “Down by the Apple Tree”
• Eighth Grade: Katelyn Studer of Dean Rusk MS for “The Game in Winter”
• Ninth Grade: Priscilla Dice of Etowah HS for “Stolen Peace”
• 10th Grade: Alison Eltz of Sequoyah HS for “Sanctuary”
• 11th Grade: Sophia Abbott of Woodstock HS for “In Cold Blood”
• 12th Grade: Chelsea Mandel of Creekview HS for “The Box”