Bellmore-Merrick CHSD Students Win National Writing Award

MERRICK, NY - From Bellmore-Merrick Central School District: Isabelle Gross from Wellington C. Mepham High School and Faith Maldonado of Sanford H. Calhoun High School, both in the Bellmore-Merrick Central School District, were recently selected for a 2018 Achievement Award in Writing, given by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Mepham AP Language and Composition teacher Marc Achtziger encouraged Isabelle and fellow student Nicole Farina to enter the local contest. A panel of English teachers evaluated all of Mepham’s entries anonymously and unanimously selected Isabelle and Nicole to move forward.

“Both are gifted writers and hard workers,” said Achtziger.

Farina received a Certificate of Nomination to recognize her success at the local level. Isabelle received a Certificate of Superior Writing.

Maldonado was also a second-place winner as a sophomore last year in the Long Island Language Arts Council’s Gambone Writing Contest which is a writing contest that emulates the NCTE national contest and was recently inducted into Calhoun’s National English Honor Society.

“Faith has proven herself to be a lover of language who is able to communicate a unique, humorous voice in her creative writing,” said English Chairperson Kim Serpe.

The NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program established in 1957 to encourage high school students to write and to recognize some of the best student writers in the nation. Only students who are juniors may participate.

Photo courtesy of Bellmore-Merrick Central School District