Creative writing students at Buffalo Grove High School have won numerous awards in a variety of writing contests during the 2013-2014 school year, primarily in the poetry category.
This spring, creative writing teacher Kate Glass received a congratulatory letter from the editors of Creative Communications in Utah, stating that a record number of Buffalo Grove students' entries (29) were selected for publication in A Celebration of Poets – Spring 2014. Assistant editor Bonna Worthen commented on the "extremely high percentage" of BGHS poets who made the final rounds of the contest and praised Glass for bringing their writing "talent to the surface." Published in this collection of award-winning poetry are the following BGHS students: Daniel Alden, Leslie Arredondo, Stephen Blaylock, Randall Buttilere, Ian Connery, Jennifer De La Torre, Jonathan Deleon, Kyle Faehnrich, Ivan Gonzalez, Cloe Harb, Katherine Horwitz, Stefani Lah, Megan Lundgren, Belen Maciel, Mary O’Brien, Ashley Palacios, Sean Pentinio, Isabella Raymundo, Sierra Richards, Danielle Round, Brayan Salgado, Raveena Singh, Ryan Szklarzewski, Angela Timochina, Allen Wachewicz, Danielle Wright, Carson Lamie, Patrick Ray, and Eric Ramirez.
Buffalo Grove was well represented at Harper College’s annual High School Writing Competition, where winners were recognized at a May 14th luncheon. Sierra Richards was awarded 1st Place in the Fiction category for her story, "Move Along," and 2nd Place in Poetry for her entry, "From Here I See." Amy Zukoski received Honorable Mention for her poem, "Dad's Picture."
Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In the 36th Annual Evanston Public Library's Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Contest, Buffalo Grove claimed two winners: Belen Maciel, 2nd place, "Purple Pineapples," and Stefani Lah, Honorable Mention, "Bardwell Street." The awards ceremony was held at the Evanston Library on May 4th.
In April, three Buffalo Grove High School seniors were awarded prizes in the Daily Herald's annual District 214 Community Art and Writing Contest and their poems were published in the Daily Herald: Isabella Raymundo--1st place, "The Blanket Game;" Ivan Gonzalez--2nd Place, "Football Camp;" and Raveena Singh--3rd Place, "My Hood."
Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Earlier in the year, BG's Literacy Lab sponsored an all-school Harlem Renaissance Poetry Contest, which ties into the English curriculum. The top three winners were Cole Festenstein--1st Place; Lauren Ward--2nd Place; and Cesar Barraza--3rd Place.
Regarding the creative process and the contest results for 2013-2014, teacher and mentor Glass commented, "It's been an exciting year! These are great students and I am thrilled that their work has been honored!"
