Four Cordell Elementary School students are now published authors, thanks to their participation in the 2020 Oklahoma Writing Project. The students, Dakota Ivey, Cassi Ray, Khloe Vanderpol, and Peyton Glover, were all students in Blaire Wall’s second grade class.
Dakota Ivey earned first place in the Primary Short Story category for her piece entitled “Fluff Is Lost!”
Khloe Vanderpol also won first place with her entry in the Personal Narrative category, “A Frightening Day.” Cassi Ray’s piece, “Show
Cassi Ray’s piece, “Show Life” earned her first place recognition in the Primary Descriptive Paragraph category. She also won an overall writing award.
Peyton Glover was awarded third place in the Primary Poem category for her poem entitled “Benji.”
Statewide, nearly 400 students from 41 different schools entered the contest. Thirty-three were honored with awards, and four of those winners were from Wall’s second grade class.
“I am extremely proud of Mrs. Wall and her students,” said Cordell Elementary Principal Alan Hull. “There are very few second graders who become published authors.”
The Oklahoma Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writng Project, has provided professional development for thousands of teachers across Oklahoma for more than 40 years. The Oklahoma Writing Project works to help teachers become better writers and better teachers of writing by working to improve writing, thinking, and creativity for all learners.
“Overall, the quality of writing of entries was incredible, casing OKWP’s writing judges to work overtime on trying to determine the winners,” the organization released in a statement on its website. “The competition was extremely close. Congratulations to all the teachers and students who entered this year’s contest. We hope that you will write again next year.”