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Cordell second-graders from left: Saxon Flores, Addelin Meget, Kimber Feltman and Cambree Moorex, stand with teacher Blaire Wall.
Blaire Wall’s second-grade class at Cordell Elementary School just might have an inspiring writer, or four.
Members of her class entered the Oklahoma Writing Project Write to Win contest and fared quite well.
She discovered the contest during a professional development course the writing project hosted.
“I learned about the annual writing contest and thought it would be an excellent opportunity for my second-graders.”
Four students won accolades in the Primary section of the contest.
Kimber Feltman won the poem category with a submission titled “My Dog Jake.”
Cambree Moore won the descriptive paragraph category with “Taking Care of My Pig.”
Addelin Meget won in the personal narrative with “Monkey Bar Boo Boo.”
Saxon Flores won the essay contest with an entry titled “Coronovirus.”
Wall is a Cordell native (born and raised) and graduated from Cordell High School in 2004. She went on to Southwestern Oklahoma State University and graduated with an education degree.
“I come from a family of educators,” she said.
This is Wall’s third year of teaching. She started at Southwest Elementary School in Clinton teaching fourth grade, before returning to her hometown to teach second grade.
“I enjoy teaching because it’s what I am meant to do; it’s my calling,” she said. “ I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Each day I strive to instill a love of learning and make a difference in my students’ lives.”
She doesn’t take credit for her student’s success.
“We work hard to learn and follow the writing process, which allows them to plan their writing and create a publishable, final draft of their work,” Wall said.
The competition was still fierce in the writing project this year, despite the problems COVID-19 bought about.
“Two hundred and fifty writing entries were still entered from all around Oklahoma. I am super proud of my students for putting forth their best effort and going the extra mile to enter this contest,” Wall said. “I would have been proud of them for trying even if they didn’t win, but winning was the cherry on top.”
All winners’ writing will be published in the 2021 Anthology of Winning Writing. A Celebration for Winners will be determined later, according to COVID-19 Guidelines.