American Girl Doll Essay Contest winner announced

AND THE WINNER IS:

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Abigail Spalding of Austintown

She is 9 years old and a fourth-grader at Frank Ohl Intermediate School in Austintown.

Here's her essay:

Abigail was worried. She could not remember the answers for her science test. The test was just three days away and her brain hurt from studying. She decided to take a break. Soon she was adding lyrics to her newest song. "I love music, I wish science could be this easy," Abigail sighed. Then she had a brilliant idea, what if her science facts were part of a song! Abigail got right to work and before she knew it she had all of the science facts written in a song. Three days later, Abigail earned her first "A" in science!

Congratulations, Abigail!

ABOUT OUR WINNER

At home

• Abigail is 9 years old. She lives with her parents, David and Lisa Spalding of Austintown, and her siblings, a brother, Nathan, and twin sisters, Rachel and Elizabeth.

• This is Abigail’s second American Girl Doll. She received her first, Rebecca, two Christmases ago from her grandma, Bonnie Clegg.

At school

• Abigail is a fourth-grader at Frank Ohl Intermediate School in Austintown.

• Her teacher is Mrs. Obruda, who, Abigail says, encourages her in writing, especially when it came to entering the essay contest.

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Abigail put a song in my heart!

By Barb Shaffer

Society/Features Editor

Along with the task of conducting a number of The Vindicator’s reader-participation contests each year also comes the pleasure of informing the winners each time.

It’s always the best part of each contest for me.

From the person who best finishes our annual Valentine Love Story, I can always count on an appreciative “Thank you. That was fun.” From the mother who apparently “knows best” — according to the daughter who said so in an essay that won the two of them dinner out for Mother’s Day — I’m sure to hear “Oh, how lovely,” or something equally fitting. And from the father who wins a ticket package to a Scrappers game for him and the son who entered him in our Father’s Day contest, I’d be disappointed if I didn’t hear a hearty “Awesome!”

But nothing, and I mean nothing beats getting to be the one who triggers the shriek of excitement that comes from the young girl who just learned that hers is the winning entry in our American Girl Doll essay contest.

That was certainly the highlight of my day last Monday. As I told Lisa Spalding — only after a very polite Abigail Spalding regained enough composure to hand the phone over to her mom — I’ll never get tired of doing this! I can’t say for sure which of us was more excited at the end of the call, Abigail or the big kid on the other end of the phone!

It wasn’t until that moment that I was certain we made the right choice, because it wasn’t an easy choice at all. We read many cute and clever entries about challenges and how the 8-to-12-year-old girls turned them into successes.

There were the predictable challenges with grades in general or a subject in particular. The majority of the entries dealt with trouble with a specific subject. There was reading ... there was math ... there was reading math problems. (Some challenges never change.)

There were a good number of girls who overcame their shyness, succeeding at everything from speaking in front of the class to performing before an audience to being the new kid in town on the first day of school.

Some of the challenges took us outside the classroom with struggles pertaining to things such as broken arms and fractured friendships, as well as achievements and failures in sports.

Other entries came from a very sober group of girls who shared their experiences with dealing with some heavy challenges at such a young age: physical limitations, illness and, sadly, loss ... of a pet, a friend, a parent.

Some made us grin, even laugh. Others tugged at our heartstrings — big time. But there also were ones that actually left us feeling uneasy. More than 10 percent of the entries dealt with the topic of bullying. Unfortunately, it’s a word that kids hear too often these days.

It is our hope that what the girls are actually struggling with are classmates who just don’t get along with them. That might be better described as mean. But our concern is, what if it really is behavior that goes beyond mean?

It also is our hope that since the girls are open enough about the subject to share it in an essay, they are open enough to be sharing it with their parents or teachers. It’s something we couldn’t ignore. It’s something we hope — if it is indeed bullying — is being dealt with; but if not, why not?

Bottom line is, all of the entries were good.

But at the end of the contest, it was Abigail’s essay that gave us exactly what we wanted. She came up with a creative way to do better in her studies. She met a challenge by being resourceful, the same way the story goes for McKenna Brooks, the American Girl character that Abigail won. Abigail simply gave us a story that could easily find its way into an American Girl Doll Book to accompany a new character: Abigail Spalding — the Singer.

To the 140 other girls who also gave it their best shot at winning McKenna, I say: “Nice job. I truly wish we had a doll for every one of you.”

To Abigail I say: “Take good care of McKenna for me, OK? It’s already lonely in this office without her. And, uh, by the way, if she repeats anything she heard while waiting for her new home, she didn’t hear that from me!”

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The girls in the fourth-grade class of Gina Hammerton at Stadium Drive Elementary School and the girls and boys in the fourth-grade class of Jan Zorman and Jeanette Tamulonis at Robinwood Lane Elementary School, both in Boardman, were given the assignment to write essays to enter in our contest.

The boy who won the competition at Robinwood Lane is Angel Perez. Here is his winning essay:

My School Challenge

By Angel Perez

The challenge that I faced in school was my behavior. My behavior was terrible. Almost every day I was in trouble and would have to go to detention. That meant I missed recess time almost every day. I was also earning bad grades because I was always fooling around. I would not pay attention to my teachers. My behavior got so bad, that every time I went to the principal's office he always blamed me. The other kids were always believed, even if I did not act badly. I was setting a bad example for myself. That's how bad it got. I was always upset, and my parents were not happy. I worked hard to overcome being bad by paying attention to my teachers. I began always telling the truth. Slowly, people began to see the change in me. Now, when I go to the principal it is just to say, "hello!"

Congratulations to you, Angel.

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Here are some of the other essays we received (unedited):

Bailey Marriotti

Second grade

West Middlesex, Pa.

The first time I read in front of the whole 2nd grade it was scarey but I did it. I felt like I was going to pass out. I read my animal report, it was about the jaguar. It’s tail is 2-3 feet long and it is 4-6 feet tall. Everybody liked it even I did, I got an A+ it was cool. I’m proud of me because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have got a good grade or I wouldn’t have faced my fear. So the next day I had to read again I wasn’t scared I was happy.

Abigail Hall, 11

Leetonia

Hi I’m Abby and this is my story. A kid in my class had some trouble with his emotions. And my friends and I wanted to help. We made friends with him, he’s just a normal person. When he got intimidated we talked to him about it and calmed him down. Then we got his mind off of it. Later on he didn’t get intimidated so easy. And when he did, he handled it better. We were so glad we helped him out. And we hope it gets better and better. This is my story and how it got solved.

Arianna Comaduran, 9

New Castle, Pa.

Hi, My name is Arianna Comaduran. I am a 3rd grader at John F Kennedy School . I am very excited to meet McKenna because I love Cheer, Dance and my best friend. Her Name is Angelina and she cheers for NCT and has lots of trophies. I would like to tell McKenna a secret about reading for B's and D's because I did need help on them.. Now I got it. My secret-- - put your fists together with your knuckles connecting, pop up your thumb so it looks like a bed. B comes first .

Anna Buffone, 10

Leetonia

The hardest thing that I've had to overcome in school has been coming from a family of five.

Every teacher knows my three older siblings. All of the teachers expect me to be like them. My oldest brother has Dyslexia so he had trouble in subjects. My other brother is a superstar in math but I have a hard time in it. My older sister likes cheerleading but I like other sports. So sometimes it's hard getting teachers to see that I am just me. Hopefully, my younger brother won't have to go through this but he probably will.

Isabella Morrison, 8

Poland

Each Friday I have a spelling test with 20 spelling words. I am a cheerleader and sometimes I would rather spend time cheering than studying my spelling words. So, to make studying more fun I like to make cheers out of my spelling words. When I get my spelling list I go through the words and pick out the ones that are challenging. Then I take those words and make them into fun cheers to help me remember them. So far my spelling cheers have helped me because I’ve gotten perfect report cards in spelling this year! GO TEAM!

Alana Bowser, 10

Youngstown

Eversince fourth grade , being an A & B student ,I faced the challenge to strive more since only "Straight A's" were recognized in school. I worked so hard for A's& B's. I wanted to get straight A's! I succeed by my determination to accomplish and it felt fantastic! My family & American Girl encouraged me to work even harder ,stay in school, and achieve in life! Positive influences,values, and morals is how I live & like each diverse doll represents. I am proud to reflect upon & say,at even 10 "I love American Girl!"

Gabrianna Christopher, 10

When my family had to move to Ohio because of my dads job, I was scared. I lived in New York all of my life and I was afraid of going to a new school and making new friends. Summer lasted forever before school started. But when September came, it was the first day of school. I made so many good friends, I forgot how hard it was to start a new school. I just tried to be nice to people and show them I was a nice person. I still miss my friends in New York, but now I have so many good friends in Canfield, it makes it alitlle easier. If I had to tell someone who was moving to another state for their dads job, I would say, just be positive, and be nice.. the rest will work it self out.

Corinne Deem, 9

Struthers

When I was little I thought I was just like other kids.When I was in Kindergarten I tried to do well , but not hard enough. I repeated Kindergarten again. The doctor said I couldn't hear .I had three operations for tubes in my ears.It didn't work. I still couldn't hear .Then I got hearing aids and they help me . Since I got hearing aids my grades are getting better .When I'm done growing I'm going to get other operation so I don't have to wear my hearing aids anymore .I just can't wait for that day !

Alyssa Irene Cumpston, 9

New Castle, Pa.

One day, I was working on math and my friend Duane started yelling. I said, “Duane, can you please stop yelling?” ”Why?”, he asked. “Because I can not focus on math.” Duane said, “ So now you hate me?” Then I said, “I never said that.” But he just walked away. I tried to explain that his yelling was disruptive. Sometimes he will stop yelling when I ask.

Marissa Taneri, 8

Sharon, Pa.

Hello! My name is Marissa and I am 8 years old. This essay is about the time I had to give a speech at school. I was very shy and nervous. I picked the topic The Human Body. I had never given a speech before.

Even though I was worried, I listened to what my teacher said. I worked hard and made sure to practice. I watched the other kids do their speeches. Some of them were nervous, but they acted brave. I decided to act brave too!

I did my speech. I was brave. We all did a great job!

Madelyn Wells, 9

Lisbon

My best friend and I always played together at school. Until one day the teacher said we were getting a new student. My best friend started spending more and more time with the new girl. I thought she didn’t want to play with me anymore. I talked to my mom about how I felt. We decided talking to my friend would be the best idea. The next day I went and told her that I was feeling left out. It turns out she was feeling sad that I wasn’t playing with her. Now we all remember to include each other.

Alyssa Pappas, 12

Canfield

In the third grade, I had to overcome a milestone of an obstacle. I had a speech impediment, and had to take special sessions. I was embarrassed when I had to tell my classmates and friends where I was going every day.

Thankfully, due to Mrs. Jokem my speech therapist and the support of my teachers and family, in about 6 weeks I graduated! I think I overcame this because I felt I accomplished something grand. Everyone was encouraging me! I could finally thank them without a slur or lisp!

To anyone trying to overcome something never give up!

Sydney Russell, 9

Canfield

In third grade, I was afraid of my teacher, Mrs. Tubic. She yelled a lot. At home, I would cry all night. I asked my parents to switch my teacher. I thought she was the worst teacher ever. She gave homework every day of the week. I couldn't wait till the end of the school year.

My parents told me I couldn't switch teachers. Then, I talked to Mrs. Tubic about it. She didn't yell as much after that talk. By the end of the year, I thought she was the best teacher ever. Now, I miss her a lot.

Emily Shar, 11

My name is Emily Shar and I have life-threatening food allergies. This is hard in school for so many reasons. My first reason is because I have a severe condition called Austio Peania. It means my bones are thin from lack of calcium. This is hard because I can't carry my instrament for band class. Sometimes people ask me why and I can't tell them. I sometimes feel embarrassed by this. Another reason food allergies are hard for me is because I can't go to restraunts,other peoples houses or anything like that. This is hard in school because when people hand out party invitations, I usually don't get invited because my friends like to have things I can't be around. I understand it, but I still like to get invited to them. My last reason why it is so difficult to have food allergies in school is some kids like to pick on me because of my weight. Sometimes I am okay with it because I like to laugh at my faults too. But sometimes I don't like it. When I was little, my doctor told me I may never get to go to school. I didn't understand it then, but now I do. I am so lucky to be able to go to school with food allergies, but sometimes I wish I didn't have them. Even though I can't do most things normal, I can still make it through. This is my school challenge.

Alyssa Monique Scott, 10

Alliance

Something tragic happened when my best friend was coming back from her aunt's house. She was in a car wreck and died on October 27, the day before our school Halloween party. When my classmates and I found out, we started to cry. All of us now have a colossal hole in our hearts. We have a big place in our hearts to fill with memories of her. We formed a club to honor her kindness to others, sent money and made gift baskets for the family. We will never forget our friend...Rebecca Susan Woodburn!