All four Westerville middle schools participated in the 19th annual Central Ohio BBB Laws of Life Essay Contest, a competition of essays written about core values by students in a 21-county Central Ohio service area.
The finalists, along with their teachers and families, have been invited to an awards banquet on May 9 at the Wendy’s Headquarters in Dublin. There, winners will be announced in the categories of best overall, best overall female, best overall male, best special theme, and first through fourth place winners by grade level. The finalists and semi-finalists include:
- Blendon Middle School – Finalist, Uzoma Fah, grade 8; Semi-Finalists, David Stuckey, grade 8, and Emma Lee, grade 6
- Genoa Middle School – Finalist, Torri Readnour
- Heritage Middle School—Finalist, Ella Kacsandi
- Walnut Spring Middle School – Finalist, Cori Bohan, grade 8; Semi-Finalists, Emma Blanchong, grade 8, Lance Preston, grade 8, and Hope Johnson, grade 7
Assisting teachers were Katharine Davis, Julie Warner, and Briana Swanson (Blendon); Kara Reiter and Mary Jo Balk (Genoa; Mary Schade (Heritage); and Alexandra Austria, Tammy Saltzman and Janice Hill (Walnut Springs); with support of the district’s Gifted Education and English Language Arts Departments.
The Laws of Life Essay Contest, created in 1987 by Sir John Templeton, inspires young people of all backgrounds and abilities to focus on their values and principles by challenging students to discover through reflection and writing the principles, people, and experiences that have helped to shape their life. The contest offers students the opportunity to take a stand for what they believe in. The Ohio Laws of Life contest began in 2001 and is supported by The John Templeton Foundation, Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc., Wendy’s, The Walker Family, and the English Family Foundation. The Central Ohio Better Business Bureau Center for Character Ethics coordinates the judging of the contest and sponsors the awards banquet and prizes. For more information, please visit http://www.bbb.org/centralohio/laws-of-life.