While Mother Nature has been busy impressing us with spring in full bloom, we at the Scholastic Awards have been busy too! Since our last blog post featuring National Medal art and writing portfolios, we’ve hosted a variety of virtual events for students and educators to get ready for the 2022 Awards (all of which you can find recordings of at the end of this post).
We are also excited to share an exclusive remote part-time paid opportunity! Offered through Wordsmith Productions, an arts and literacy nonprofit (and RAL partner) in California, high school students located anywhere in the country are encouraged to apply for this remote student writer researcher position to aid in research for a literary nonfiction book. You can find more details about the role and how to apply here.
Lastly, we are continuing our celebration of National Medal winners and today we are shining the spotlight on some of our RAL Silver Medalists!
To say we have been amazed and inspired by the works of all of our Silver Medalists is an understatement. This has been a challenging year for all, and the many ways in which students expressed their feelings of grief, uncertainty, and anger, but also of joy and determination through their art and writing invigorates us and gives us hope. For this, we thank you.
While we will not be able to feature all of our incredible RAL Silver Medalists in this post, you can check out the full list of national award-winning pieces here.
Congratulations again to all our RAL award recipients and to everyone who participated. The virtual National Ceremony on June 9 is only one month away–we can’t wait to celebrate with you all soon!
Until then, let’s meet some of our RAL Silver Medalists and check out their award-winning works, shall we?
Emmaline Vrska, Winter in Wyoming
2021 Silver Medal, Poetry
Grade 11, Pinedale High School, Pinedale, WY
Kendall Brunette, Educator
An excerpt from Winter in Wyoming by Emmaline Vrska, Poetry
Erica Na, Apartment 305
2021 Silver Medal, Architecture & Industrial Design
Grade 8, Friends Academy, Locust Valley, NY
Jiyong Park, Educator
Apartment 305 by Erica Na, Architecture & Industrial Design
Murleve Roberts, Bleach-Skinned
2021 Silver Medal, Poetry
Grade 12, A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, West Palm Beach, FL
Brittany Rigdon, Educator
An excerpt from Bleach-Skinned by Murleve Roberts, Poetry
Ashwin Subramanian, Childhood Games
2021 Silver Medal, Drawing & Illustration
Grade 10, Obra D. Tompkins High School, Katy, TX
Christie Skinner, Educator
Childhood Games by Ashwin Subramanian, Drawing & Illustration
Penelope (Penny) Duran, The King’s Shadow
2021 Silver Medal, Poetry
Grade 11, Carl Schurz School, DPO, AE
Ursula Wehner-Göldner, Educator
An excerpt from The King’s Shadow by Penelope (Penny) Duran, Poetry
Ryan Vance, Do You See Us?
2021 Silver Medal, Photography
Grade 9, Altamont School, Birmingham, AL
Marygray Hunter, Educator
Do You See Us? by Ryan Vance, Photography
Christopher Fu, Should Have Looked, Should Have Listened
2021 Silver Medal, Personal Essay & Memoir
Grade 7, Peck School, Morristown, NJ
Megan Boyle, Educator
An excerpt from Should Have Looked, Should Have Listened by Christopher Fu, Personal Essay & Memoir
Vanessa Ho, Anticipation
2021 Silver Medal, Digital Art
Grade 12, Arnold O. Beckman High School, Irvine, CA
Samantha Squieri, Educator
Anticipation by Vanessa Ho, Digital Art
Caroline Sherley, Practiced Innocence
2021 Silver Medal, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Grade 8, Bush School, Seattle, WA
Mike Jackson, Educator
An excerpt from Practiced Innocence by Caroline Sherley, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Monet Parker, Motion Sickness
2021 Silver Medal, Film & Animation
Grade 11, Etobicoke School of the Arts, Toronto, ON, Canada
Matthew Varey and Glenn Novak, Educators
Anish Aradhey, Disparate Awakenings of Memory
2021 Silver Medal, Poetry
Grade 10, Harrisonburg High School, Harrisonburg, VA
Sara Gingras, Educator
An excerpt from Disparate Awakenings of Memory by Anish Aradhey, Poetry
Sierra Sun, Out of Toilet Paper? Don’t Flush the Other Stuff.
2021 Silver Medal, Journalism
Grade 8, Waterford School, Sandy, UT
Matthew Adams, Educator
An excerpt from Out of Toilet Paper? Don’t Flush the Other Stuff. by Sierra Sun, Journalism
Congratulations again to all Silver Medalists, and to all of our RAL national award winners!
. . . and don’t forget to apply today for the part-time student writer researcher position if you are interested! Also, be sure to sign up here for a reminder email when the 2022 Scholastic Awards open for entries. In the meantime . . . keep creating, and check out the recordings of our virtual spring events below!
- Educators: Classroom Resources – Healing Through Creativity – An introduction to Scholastic Awards classroom guides and how they might fit into your classroom. Dave Binkard and Katie Breidenbach, authors of “Healing Through Creativity: Writing Educators’ Guide” will lead a deep dive into the lesson plans.
- Art Portfolio Panel – Hear from a panel of artists, educators, and Scholastic Awards jurors on how you can make a standout portfolio that showcases your talent and vision.
- Don’t worry, writers, we’ve got you covered! Check out our Writing Portfolio Panel for advice on putting together a strong portfolio that showcases your unique voice and talent.
- Educators: How to Help Your Students Apply for Scholarships – Learn about cash award and scholarship opportunities available to both educators and students through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and how your students can start preparing now.
- Students: Applying for Scholarships and Cash Awards – Learn about cash award and scholarship opportunities available through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and how you can start preparing now.
Looking for more opportunities to be recognized? Students of African descent are invited to participate in local and national ACT-SO competitions! NAACP’s ACT-SO is a community-based program that provides a forum for youth of African descent to receive recognition for their achievements in academics, literary arts, visual arts, and the sciences.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are open for entries annually from September through December. See upcoming important dates to learn more about what’s next for the Awards.
Region-at-Large 