We’re thrilled to announce that eight of our middle and high school students earned awards in Genesee Valley BOCES’s annual Literary Contest last month! 

This year’s competition saw a record 218 submissions from students in grades 5 through 12 across BOCES’s 22 member school districts, said Julie Judge, a BOCES enrichment specialist who runs the contest. 

“Pieces were written between mid-Feb and the end of March and judging took place through the month of April,” said Judge. “The judging panel was composed of local college professors and a local young adult author. They based their scoring on 5 criteria: Ideas and meaning, development and voice, organization, language, and writing mechanics. Each of our judges also offered comments on the winners' submissions to give them a bit of insight from a writing professional.” 

In the middle school, we had 4 winners.

• Grace C., an 8th grader, earned first place in the 7th/8th Grade Poetry category for her poem, “Melancholy Mass,” which centers on a self-loathing narrator who seeks solace in a church. 

• Lillia R., a 7th grader, took 2nd place in the 7th/8th Grade Short Story category for her piece, “Fights and Flights.”

• Ryker G., a 6th grader, received an honorable mention recognition in the 5th/6th Grade Short Story category for his piece, “The Pentagon.” The piece is the first chapter of a longer, planned story about a man who dies, wakes up in Hell and agrees to a mysterious arrangement with a demon.  

• 8th grader Jack G. also earned an honorable mention in the 7th/8th Grade Poetry category for his poem, “Fortnite Win,” which chronicles the stresses and successes of a winning round of the battle royale-style online multiplayer video game. 

In the high school, we also had 4 winners: 

• Senior Laura K. took first place in the 11th/12th Grade Poetry category with her piece, “You.”

• Abby S., also a senior, received an honorable mention recognition in the 11th/12th Grade Poetry category for “Red Roses.”

• Aariana A., a junior, earned a second place finish in the 11th/12th Grade Poetry category for her submission, “Soldier in Blue.”

• Junior Jacob T. received an honorable mention in the 11th/12th Grade Poetry category for his poem, “A Seed is Born.”