Four students from Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls received awards for creative works submitted to the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Competition, for the Northeast Region at Large.
Junior Naima Hirsch from Teaneck, NJ won numerous awards including a Silver Key for Poetry (“The Midnight Confidante”; “Flannel Arms, Denim Legs”; “Metamorphosis”), a Silver Key for Flash Fiction (“When Reality is a Nightmare”) and an Honorable Mention for Flash Fiction (“She so Rarely Was”); sophomore Eliana Koehler from Stamford, CT and junior Emily Kanarek from New City, NY won Silver Keys for submissions in the Personal Essay/Memoir category—Ms. Koehler for an essay titled “The Dreamer at the End of the Maze,” and Ms. Kanarek for an essay titled “Checkmate.” Sophomore Devora Krischer from Teaneck, NJ received an Honorable Mention in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category for her essay “Frozen Fire.”
The Scholastic Art & Writing Competition, currently administered by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, dates back to 1923, and is the longest running creative arts competition in the United States. Established to identify and bring national recognition to teenagers with exceptional artistic and literary talent, it currently accepts submissions in 28 diverse categories. In addition to the categories in which the Ma’ayanot students won recognition, the program accepts submissions in categories that range from architecture to fashion and play writing, to name just a few. The competition has numerous noteworthy past winners including Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates and many others.
While this was the first year that Ma’ayanot students competed in the Scholastic Art & Writing contest, more than 90,000 teens in grades 7 through 12 from around the nation submit more than 185,000 works of art and writing in a typical year. The Ma’ayanot contest participants were mentored by Mrs. Rebecca Herman, creative writing teacher, faculty advisor for Ma’ayanot’s literary journal, and writing coach in the Ma’ayanot Learning Center.
For more information about Ma’ayanot visit its website at www.maayanot.org.
By Pam Ennis
