Bright, young local readers among contest winners
Four local elementary school students were among the Upper Cumberland regional winners of the 2003 Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.
Winners included West Elementary student Cynthia Godinez, first-place winner in the first-grade category; West Elementary student Morgan Sweet, fourth-place winner in the first-grade category; West Elementary student Alex Hillis, third-place winner in the second-grade category; and Eastside Elementary student Lindsey Rowland, first-place winner in the third-grade category.
The Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest is sponsored annually by the National Public Television children’s show “Reading Rainbow.” Its purpose is to encourage, reward and challenge children to create stories with their own words and illustrations.
It is open to students in grades kindergarten through third. Eligible stories must be original, but can be fiction, non-fiction, prose or poetry. Each story must be accompanied by five original illustrations.
According to Cindy Putman, Ready to Learn trainer for WCTE-TV, the Cookeville-based NPT affiliate which sponsors the Upper Cumberland regional competition, this year’s contest saw 172 entries. Judging these entries were a number of professors from the department of education at Tennessee Tech.
Winners were honored at a reception held in their honor at WCTE in May. Additionally, the stories of Godinez and Rowland, the first-place winners in their respective categories, will be forwarded to the national Reading Rainbow Writers and Illustrators Contest in Washington D.C.