Success at State Power of the Pen Tournament

This year a team of seventh and eighth graders from Birchwood School of Hawken competed against more than 180 schools at the Power of the Pen state competition, hosted by Otterbein University. State qualifying students were: Isabella Bixler, Areesha Nouman, Joshua Gordon, Ayat Jaffar, Stephen Parrino, Manya Raina, Haadeya Salman, and Sabrina Syed were coached by Lorraine Tzeng, Jennifer Seward, and Maysan Haydar.

State competitors wrote in three back-to-back 35-minute rounds. These stories were then immediately judged to determine who would advance to the fourth and final round of writing. This year saw impressive results, with two students advancing to the final round, the Birchwood team placing fifth overall, and one student taking first place!

Fifth Place (Team Score)
 
First Place (Seventh Grade)
    Joshua Gordon
 
Platinum Pen Award
     Areesha Nouman (Westlake)
     Haadeya Salman (Seven Hills)
 
Round Four Qualifiers
    Joshua Gordon (Bay Village)
    Manya Raina (Brecksville)
 
 
The Platinum Pen Awards were given to students whose stories earned a Best of Rounds designation at the regional competition that held up against further judging at the state level. These stories will be printed in the organization’s annual book of winners.

We are so proud of our seventh and eighth graders for all their hard work!
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