All four Westerville middle schools participated in the 2018 Central Ohio BBB Laws of Life Essay Contest, a competition of the best Laws of Life essays written about core values by middle grade students in a 22-county Central Ohio service area. The finalists, along with their teachers and families, were invited to an awards banquet at on May 14 at the Wendy’s Headquarters in Dublin. Westerville’s finalists and semi-finalists included:
- Blendon Middle School (teacher Briana Swanson) – Tyler Zwick, 1st place in 8th grade
- Genoa Middle School (teachers Kara Reiter and Bryan Stumpf) – Stanley Jackson, grade 7, 4th place, Overall; Kyra Lesmerises, grade 8, Best Female Essay; and Miles Poindexter, 3rd place in 8th grade
- Heritage Middle School(teacher Mary Schade) – Eli Tansey, grade 6, Best Male Essay
- Walnut Springs (teachers Ranee Brown, Tammy Saltzmann, and Janice Hill – Cori Bohan, 3rd place in 7th grade; Jane Gruber, grade 6 semifinalist; Mabel Cumming-Vukovic, 1st place in 6th grade; and Abigail Cumming-Vukovic, grade 8, Best Special Theme (Honesty).
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.