January 27, 2020 – Forty (40) seventh and eighth grade students from ten local public, private, and charter schools competed in the countywide Writing Tournament. The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Office coordinated the annual event, which was held in the Stone Hall at the Miners Foundry, on January 14th. Many thanks to our tournament sponsors: The Book Seller, Williams Stationery, The Miners Foundry Cultural Center, and Nevada County Superintendent of Schools.

The students were judged on three styles of writing:

  • Informative Writing: Guest speaker, Judy Nielsen, designer for Haute Trash, spoke for 30 minutes about the designing fashionable clothing from recycled materials. Following her speech, the students were given time to write a paper about the presentation.
  • Creative Writing: The students wrote compositions in response to the prompt: Imagine you’re cleaning out your desk and find a secret message carved or written on the bottom of one drawer.
  • Persuasive Letter Writing: Students were asked to write a letter to the editor of the Union: Should children be given an allowance as a reward for completing chores or good behavior, or should children receive an allowance regardless?

Winners:
Overall winners for highest collective score from 3 written assignments:
7th Grade: Addie Tice-Raskin – Magnolia
8th Grade: Melina Handan – Seven Hills

7th Grade winners by category:

Informative Writing:
First place: Joshua Tiffany – Union Hill
Second place: Jude Slater – Clear Creek
Third place: Addie Tice-Raskin – Magnolia
Fourth place: Soleil Johnson – Nevada City School of the Arts
Fifth place: Kaelin Day – Chicago Park

Creative Writing:
First place: Addie Tice-Raskin – Magnolia
Second place: Joshua Tiffany – Union Hill
Third place: Kaelin Day – Chicago Park
Fourth place: Alexa Ines – Grass Valley Charter
Fifth place: Morgan Parnow – Seven Hills

Persuasive Letter Writing:
First place: Jude Slater – Clear Creek
Second place: Ahna Taliaferro-Watson – Seven Hills
Third place: Noah Ross – Union Hill
Fourth place: Marie Redd – Nevada City School of the Arts
Fifth place: Alexa Ines – Grass Valley Charter

8th Grade winners by category:

Informative Writing:
First place: Melina Handan – Seven Hills
Second place: Fiala Noyes – Grass Valley Charter
Third place: Delaney Sherr – Seven Hills
Fourth place: Riley Lubarsky – Clear Creek
Fifth place: Marley Lopin – Forest Charter

Creative Writing:
First place: Fiala Noyes – Grass Valley Charter
Second place: Grayson Allen-Shively – Nevada City School of the Arts
Third place: Willow West – Clear Creek
Fourth place: Chloe Wong – Mount Saint Marys
Fifth place: Sabrina Mantooth – Magnolia

Persuasive Letter Writing:
First place: Melina Handan – Seven Hills
Second place: Fiala Noyes – Grass Valley Charter
Third place: Delaney Sherr – Seven Hills
Fourth place: Jessie Slade – Union Hill
Fifth place: Riley Lubarsky – Clear Creek