Wayne Country Day comes in second in state writing contest
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 20, 2011 1:50 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/MICHAEL K. DAKOTA
Wayne Country Day School students Luke Bryan, Lisa Peacock, Elizabeth Schappell and Tess Allen took second place in The Quill, a statewide writing contest. Tess Allen won a first place in creative writing.
Wayne Country Day School recently captured second place in a statewide writing contest under the umbrella of the newly formed N.C. Association for Scholastic Activities, with one student from the group earning first place for creative writing.
NCASA promotes academic and scholastic activities, offering several competitions throughout the school year, culminating in the Scholastic Cup, awarded to the school that earns the most points accumulated in the events.
The three primary events leading up to the Cup include The Quill, teams of four students creating written products in four different styles after receiving a prompt; Quiz Bowl, pitting two teams of four against one another to answer questions read by a moderator; and Twelve, teams of 12 students tackling 12 topics with 12 questions each.
Sophomores Tess Allen, Luke Bryan, Lisa Peacock and Elizabeth Schappell were on the team that participated in The Quill and placed second in the state. Out of that group, Tess also earned a first place in the category of creative writing.
Selected by Headmaster Todd Anderson for the contest, the students decided in advance which writing style they would attempt in the contest.
Lisa chose argumentation; Tess, creative writing; Elizabeth, literary analysis; and Luke, problem/solution.
The four-member team had competed at the regional level first, then advanced to the state.
Tess, whose winning entry was based on a photograph she was given, chose to write a back story about the people featured in the picture.
She said it helped that the participants were able to choose their writing style in advance.
"Each of us had an easier time writing the one that we chose," she said of her team.
Contests such as this provide more than an opportunity to win a prize, added Luke.
"It gives you confidence that you hadn't really tried before and succeed," he said.
The school will again be represented in the other two competitions sponsored by the NCASA.
Tess and Luke will be part of the team attending the Quiz Bowl in Raleigh in a few weeks, while Elizabeth and Lisa will travel to Greensboro as part of Twelve.