Birchwood Student is a Finalist in Letters About Literature Competition
Ari Eman placed second in Ohio and was named as a finalist in the nation-wide Letters About Literature Competition. As a finalist, his letter is included in a special commemorative booklet and is invited to a special awards ceremony and luncheon to be held at the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library on Saturday, May 11. Additionally, Ari received a cash prize of $75.
Furthermore, eighteen Birchwood students were named semi-finalists. The fifth and sixth grade category, garnered over 400 entries and the following students moved past the first round of judging: Aanya Lakireddy, Alex Sideris, Eashan Kosaraju, Katie Leonardi, Ari Emam, Cadence Guo, Dilan Nadkarni, Jad Alsouss, Jennifer Song, Manan Raina, Nadine Nouraldin, Omar Issa, Sebastian Boyer, and Saumya Mahajan.
Furthermore, eighteen Birchwood students were named semi-finalists. The fifth and sixth grade category, garnered over 400 entries and the following students moved past the first round of judging: Aanya Lakireddy, Alex Sideris, Eashan Kosaraju, Katie Leonardi, Ari Emam, Cadence Guo, Dilan Nadkarni, Jad Alsouss, Jennifer Song, Manan Raina, Nadine Nouraldin, Omar Issa, Sebastian Boyer, and Saumya Mahajan.
In the seventh and eighth grade category, this year’s contest received over 700 entrants and the following Birchwood students advanced to the second round of judging: Anna Sideris, Charlotte Alten, Eliana Yang, Masa Tajour, and Max Wang.
Letters About Literature is a reading and writing competition open to students in grades 4-12. Entrants read a fiction or nonfiction book, book series, short story, poem, essay, or speech and write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter each year. Winning submissions are not simply fan mail or book reports, but require deep thought and analysis from the student. They have to make connections to the literary pieces they select and then convey clearly and concisely how that author’s writing made a significant impact on their lives.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation and The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress sponsored this year’s contest.
Birchwood is so proud of these students’ accomplishment and wishes them success in the final round of competition.
