SJIHM students excel at English Festival

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Neighbors | Submitted.English Festival contest winners are, from left, Nora Carlson, Joseph Chepke, Jack Chepke, Brendan Faloon, David Durda and Richard Wolfe.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Students met at McDonalds before the YSU ENglish Festival to eat and plan their routes on campus to ensure they knew where they were going. This was the first time some of the students were on a college campus. Pictured are, from left, David Markovitch, Patrick Thomas, Brendan Faloon and Glyn Roberts.

Seventh and eighth-grade students from St. Joseph Immaculate Heart of Mary School, along with their English teacher, Caroline Mulhall, attended the YSU English Festival on April 19.

During the school year, students read seven books selected by the Festival Committee, demonstrating their love of the written word. According to festival rules, the students must read these books on their own time, not as part of the school curriculum. On festival day, students spent the day at YSU competing with 450 other seventh, eighth and ninth grade students from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“It was awesome because I got to meet a bunch of people and play writing games where everyone had to think. I can’t wait to do it next year,” said seventh-grader Joshua Harker.

Several eighth-graders commented that they loved meeting authors and found their lectures interesting, as well as shocking at times.

The following students won awards at the festival: Jack Chepke (honorable mention in writing games, seventh place impromptu writing); Richard Wolfe (honorable mention in writing games); Brendan Faloon (second place in “Not So Trivial Pursuit”); David Durda (second place Renga Riot); Nora Carlson (honorable mention in impromptu writing, second place Renga Riot); and Joseph Chepke (honorable mention in journalism).