Wantagh High School Student Honored For Short Story

WANTAGH, NY — Wantagh High School sophomore Nora Toscano has received an honorable mention in the 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her short story “Go to Sleep,” which touches on the topic of school violence, according to a news release.

Toscano said that she had a burst of creative energy one night when she kissed her younger brother, Emmet, good night and she got to work writing “Go to sleep.” It tells the story of a girl who died as a result of a school shooting, and in writing the story, Toscano imagined what it would be like if her brother had been in the shooting, she said.

Toscano, who plans on pursuing a writing career, is an active reporter who has her first Wantagh Warrior cover story, which is about the high school’s blue ribbon status, coming out this month. Toscano, along with three classmates, also published an article about a recent school holiday cookbook fundraiser, “Uniting a Community Through Food and Pets: How One High School is Making a Difference,” in The Imagine Society newsletter.

When Toscano is not writing, she plays defense on both the lacrosse and soccer teams.

The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, which is the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative individuals in grades 7-12, identifies students with “exceptional artistic and literary talents and presents their successes” through the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, district officials said.

Student entries are judged by “leaders of the visual and literary arts, who look for works that exemplify the award’s core values of originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal voice or vision,” officials said.