WASB Honors Greenfield Student Authors

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) is proud to announce that seven students from the Greenfield School District won first-place in their respective divisions in the 2009 WASB Write and Illustrate Your Own Book Contest.

Parth Amrute of Maple Grove Elementary School won first place in the kindergarten and first-grade category for his book Jack’s Egg Search.

Yash Banal, who attends Elm Dale Elementary School, took first-place in the second and third-grade category for his book My Big Sister Earth.

Shawn Mallon of Glenwood Elementary School won first-place in the fourth and fifth-grade division for his book My Life in the Great Depression.

Liam Granlund and Hernan Molina of Maple Grove Elementary School were awarded first place in the group submissions division for students in fourth and fifth-grade for their book Legoman.

Finally, Kerri Hebert and Abbie Ballweg, who are students at Greenfield Middle School, took first-place in the group submissions category for students in sixth through eighth-grade for their book The Legend of Earth.

In addition to the first-place winners, 11 more Greenfield students won second or third-place, or received honorable mention. In total, of the 19 of 31 students recognized in the statewide contest attend the Greenfield School District.

Each year the annual contest recognizes the outstanding talents of our state’s students through cash prizes and recognition at state education events.

“Write a compelling story, accompany it with original illustrations and then bind the final product into an attractive book — this is the challenge we issue to youngsters who participate in this project,” WASB Executive Director John Ashley said. “Students learn about books from the most basic foundational aspects to the highest levels of human expression. The project supports creativity and fosters entrepreneurial potential, which are 21st century imperatives for public education.”

First-place winners will be honored during WASB’s fall regional meetings. Held in 15 locations around the state during September and October, these meetings bring together school board members and district administrators to discuss educational issues. Winning books will also be displayed at the annual State Education Convention, held Jan. 20-22 in Milwaukee.

WASB would like to thank the Wisconsin State Reading Association for judging this year’s entries.

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards is a nonprofit association that provides information and services to Wisconsin school boards in the areas of school law and policymaking, bargaining, legislation and leadership development.