Power of the Pen

The Power of the Pen creative writing team has been practicing for the last two months in preparation for the District tournament at Yellow Springs on Saturday, February 8th. This year the 7th grade team members are the following: Raven Boerger, Samantha Gaerke, and Grace Voisard. The 8th grade team members are the following: Emily Bohman, Emma Gerdes, and Cameo Wilson. Good Luck to these writers in the competition at the District level on February 8th.

Congratulations to the four Power of the Pen team members who wrote at the Regional competition in Fort Loramie on Saturday, March 29. The 8th grade writer was Emma Gerdes and the 7th grade writers were Raven Boerger, Samantha Gaerke, and Grace Voisard. Special recognition goes to Grace Voisard who finished 15th and Raven Boerger who placed 18th overall for the 7th grade writers. Both of those writers have qualified for the state competition at Wooster College.

Power of the Pen is a non-profit educational writing program which targets 7th and 8th grade students in Ohio. At three levels of competition (District, Regional, and State), students participate in three rounds of impromptu writing and receive instant feedback from judges.

Created in 1986 by Lorraine B. Merrill, Power of the Pen emphasizes creative writing and relies on holistic evaluation. It encourages schools to identify excellence and develop writing teams. It allows young writers to compete, and receive awards and recognition. Such awards include trophies, medallions savings bonds, publication of writing, and scholarships.

Last year, the state-wide activities included a little over 10,000 tournament participations (8,000 different students and 1,200 teachers). One third of Ohio's eligible public, private, and parochial schools (offering a seventh and/or eighth grade course of instruction in language arts) participated in the program.

Mission Statement:

Power of the Pen is committed to being the leading interscholastic program in written expression, designed for young writers at the 7th and 8th grade levels. It assists teachers in the on-going task of facilitating writing by providing quality tools and resources to identify, challenge, and reward excellence. It provides teachers with an educational network that shares ideas and instructional materials to improve student's expressive writing skills. Power of the Pen inspires a love for the beauty and power of language for writing as a life skill. It encourages creative and critical thinking, and enriches and enhances the writing curriculum of schools. This is accomplished in a collaborative environment that includes community support and involvement at all levels.