Middle Schoolers wield pen power

If writing is empowering, a group of Hawken seventh and eighth-graders are incipient literary stalwarts. A team of Middle Schoolers, led by sixth and seventh-grade English teachers Laura Staufer and Yolanda Polk, recently traveled to the disrict competition of Power of the Pen and swept the competition. The entire eighth grade team came in first in district, competing against teams from Hathaway Brown, Laurel School, University School, Shaker Heights Middle School, Solon Middle School, Hudson School and others. Individual students were also recognized for their work by seasoned professionals, who chose \"best of\" pieces and honorable mentions in rounds of competition. Eighth-grader Nick Richard was the winner of round one with eighth-graders Julie Zeilinger and Abi Moeller receiving honorable mention. In addition, Moeller was the winner of round three and Zelinger received honorable mention. Hawken students also took all but five of the top spots in the overall competition. Moeller earned second place, Zeilinger third, eighth-grader Hannah Kerman grabbed fourth place and eighth-grader Laura Kokotailo won fifth. \"Many of our seventh-graders will go on to compete at the regional level,\" said Polk. \"Most, if not all, of the eighth-grade team is projected to go on to compete at regionals as well.\" The competition challenges students in the skill of impromptu creative writing. They`re given a prompt and only 40 minutes to create imaginative, compelling stories. Advancing to regionals gives our Hawken students, if successful, a change to face off against some of the state`s best middle school writers in the State Finals at the College of Wooster in May.