All eighth grade English students at Spanish Fork Junior High participated in the Do the Write Thing Challenge this year. On May 27, 2021, the Utah State Board of Education’s Prevention and Student Services staff and the Utah Do the Write Thing (DtWT) Committee honored 24 junior high/middle school students as State Finalists for their written anti-violence entries to Utah’s Twentieth annual DtWT Challenge. Dylan Rawe was recognized as a state finalist and Cole Hales and Meaghan Peine were honored as National Finalists. In addition to their respective $300 and $500 scholarships, a copy of the students’ work will be placed in The Library of Congress. We want to congratulate these students for their accomplishments and encourage them to continue writing and reflecting on the questions they answered in their essays and poems: How has youth violence affected my life? What are the causes of youth violence? and What can my community and I do to reduce youth violence?
The finalists’ teachers. Mr. Carter and Mrs.Thompson, were also recognized by the committee and wish to thank the Utah State Board of Education’s Prevention and Student Services Staff and the DtWT Committee for giving students this real-world writing opportunity.
Please take a moment to read our students’ work!