On Friday, February 2nd, 2018, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards recognized seven students from the high school and one from the middle school for their written work in the NJ Writing Region. Students from the school include Adi Gal (’19), Ahri Han (’18), Cleopatra Lim (’18), Alexandra Nelson (’19), Dan Rudiak (’19), Susan Wie (’18), and Kathryn Zheng (’20). The award recipient from the middle school is Jacqueline Kim (’23),  The Awards is one of the most prestigious writing and arts competitions in the world open to writers and artists in grades 7-12. Alumni of the competition include artist Andy Warhol, poet Sylvia Plath, actors Alan Arkin and Lena Dunham, and more. This year, the competition drew in submissions for 29 categories, ranging from poetry to digital art. Tenafly students took home the following regional awards in writing:

Adi Gal
Honorable Mention: Poetry – “World’s End”
Honorable Mention: Dramatic Script – “And What About Claudia?”
Silver Key: Poetry – “Time and Tide”

Ahri Han
Honorable Mention: Writing Portfolio – “A Voyage Beyond”

Jacqueline Kim
Silver Key: Short Story – “Out of my Mind”
Gold Key: Short Story – “Box in the Rain”

Cleopatra Lim
Silver Key: Short Story – “Through a Train Window”
Silver Key: Short Story – “Breakable”

Alexandra Nelson
Honorable Mention: Poetry – “The World, Which Soon Will Pass”
Silver Key: Poetry – “But Today It Stood Not For Me”

Dan Rudiak
Silver Key: Poetry – “Driving from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv”
Silver Key: Poetry – “Jalopy”

Susan Wie
Honorable Mention: Journalism – “Viva la Social Media”

Kathryn Zheng
Silver Key: Poetry – “hope, unopened”
Gold Key: Poetry – “post-”

The regional awards are divided into three different categories:  Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention. According to the Scholastic website, Gold Keys are given to the best works in the local program. Silver Keys are given to stand-out works that show exceptional ability, and Honorable Mentions are given to works that show great skill and potential.

Ahri Han, who received an Honorable Mention for her writing portfolio, was excited when she found out about her award. “This award was an extremely pleasant surprise! I really enjoyed putting my portfolio together and am honored to have received the award,” said Han. The writing portfolio category is a unique category in the competition, as it is only available to high school seniors. Han, who took advantage of this opportunity, also expressed her excitement for the other winners. “Tenafly has so many talented writers, and it was awesome to see so many classmates being recognized from all grades,” said Han.

Alexandra Nelson, who won two awards for her poetry, expressed her joy for writing after hearing about her recognition. “I feel really proud and happy that people liked my writing that I was just doing for fun,” said Nelson.

Students who received Gold Keys for their works are automatically considered for the national competition, from which they have the opportunity to receive national medals and additional opportunities. National winners will attend the National Awards Ceremony on March 17, 2018. In the past, the ceremony was consistently held at Carnegie Hall. Both Silver Key and Gold Key winners have the opportunity to apply to special scholarship opportunities for writing programs over the summer.

Congratulations, Tigers! Good luck to those advancing to the national round!