Last February, juniors were invited by their English teachers to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing contest hosted by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The award winners were announced this October. Out of the 520 students chosen nationwide, thirteen were from Minnesota, and four hailed from Edina High School. Our congratulations to Anne Cavanagh, Allen Fang, Will Freeman, and Erik Rehnberg!

After the initial contest here at the high school, Tim Klobuchar, last year’s coordinator, along with some other English teachers, nominated four students to move onto the national level. Four students was the maximum number of nominees possible given the high school’s total enrollment. “Once they are selected as winners by us, they have to come up with a ten-page maximum best writing sample. Usually, it’s stuff they’ve done on their own which speaks to how much they love to write and how dedicated they are,” explained Klobuchar.

“No one else in the state got more than one, and all four of our [nominees] were named outstanding writers. I’ve been doing this for seven years and the most we’ve ever gotten is two. I couldn’t believe it when they were all picked,” said Klobuchar. He went on, “It’s pretty incredible. It’s a testament to the quality of kids and writing we get here.”

In addition to bragging rights, winners receive paper certificates, their names on the NCTE website, and an addition to their college resumes.

The contest will be held at Edina again next year, however, the Writing Center will be the new host. “They’ll do a great job of promoting it,” reassured Klobuchar. Let’s see if the class of 2013 can match four, shall we?