Three Students Honored as WHRO Young Storytellers
Posted: June 22, 2021
Three Newport News Public Schools students earned accolades for their stories submitted to the WHRO Young Storytellers Contest.
Saniya Hundley-Sweeney won first place for "Sanita and the S-bots," written when she was in Eric Goff's fifth grade class at Carver Elementary. Her book details her adventures creating robots who encourage humans to recycle.
Mr. Goff wants students to feel comfortable writing. He says, "I tell my students that if they can talk to a friend, they can write a story. I try to get them to think of writing as a phone call or FaceTime with their friends, but instead of speaking, they write their thoughts down."
Lucy Gurganus won first place in her category for "The Puppy Pizza Place." Lucy recently completed second grade in Jennifer Howell's class at Deer Park Elementary.
Ms. Howell says, "As a team, we teach reading and writing with our favorite read-aloud stories and fun and adventurous writings, always modeling the writing with our own attempts first. We try very hard to create a safe place for students to express themselves through writing in hopes that this helps each child know that they are all authors."
Kylen Boyer, who just finished third grade at Sedgefield Elementary, earned an honorable mention for "The Day I Glitched."
Madison Lundy, Kylen's teacher at Sedgefield Elementary says, "I encourage the writers in my class by assuring them that just like everything else, writing takes time. Itâ??s a process; it may take a rewrite or two before successfully relaying what they are trying to express, but practice makes perfect. I remind them that being a good writer goes hand in hand with being a good listener and reader because they never know when inspiration may strike."
The winners will join their counterparts from surrounding Hampton Roads schools at a virtual Ceremony Thursday, June 24 at 6 p.m. on WHRO's Facebook page.
