A sixth grade student from Pieper Ranch Middle School recently became a published author when her 500-word essay titled “Bill Pickett, the Bulldogger” was included in the February issue of Wild West Magazine, part of HistoryNet.com.
Mayumi Torres, 11, received a certificate, letter and plaque as well as the honor of being published. Torres along with her fellow Pre-AP English language arts classmates entered the writing contest as an assignment. The managing editor, David Lauterborn, of Wild West accepted the top 12 essays, and he and his staff chose the winning entry from those 12.
The students were presented with the following question by Lauterborn, “On the wide-open Western frontier from 1865 to 1890, people and animals often depended on one another. How can we, as journalists, honor such relationships in story? We would like for you to find a unique instance of people-animal interaction in the West and write a 500-word story about it.”
The top 12 wrote about Buffalo Bill Cody, Pickett, Butch Cassidy, Sitting Bull, Nat Love, Ann Bassett, Charles Schreiner, Scotty Philip, John “King” Fisher and Lucille Mulhall. Each received a “Young Author Award” certificate for reaching the final 12, quite an honor considering that 270 students submitted essays to their teachers.
The district’s ELA curriculum coordinator and a team of judges narrowed down the essays to the final 12 which were submitted to the magazine.
The “Young Author Award” honorees include Logan Barker, Stevie Conrad, Ryan Cortez, Nicholus Jordon Crow, Rebekah Deemer, Kennedi Diamond, Carter Graham, Andrew Grinestaff, Alec Nohe, Grant Oling and Hunter Samples. The ELA teachers who made it happen are Nichole Reid, Amy Wiley and Nina Guevara.
Congratulations to all!
-Pieper Ranch Middle School sixth grade students were presented with “Young Author Award” certificates Friday, Feb. 28, for their essay submissions to Wild West Magazine, historynet.com. Pictured from left in back are sixth grade ELA teachers Amy Wiley and Nichole Reid along with PRMS Principal Scott Hammond; middle row, Andrew Grinestaff, Stevie Conrad, Grant Oling, Logan Barker, Kennedi Diamond and ELA teacher Nina Guevara; front row, Hunter Samples, Ryan Cortez, Mayumi Torres and Alec Nohe. Not pictured are Nicholus Jordon Crow, Karter Graham and Rebekah Deemer.