JSU News Wire

May 3, 2004 -- The Jacksonville State University Writing Project hosted 270 middle school students in grades 5-8 at Stone Center on Thursday, April 29, 2004, for its annual Language Arts Olympiad. Students competed in areas such as literature, grammar, spelling, public speaking, and essay writing in both individual and team events. At the end of the day’s events, an awards ceremony in the Stone Center Theatre recognized first, second, and third place winners in each event by presenting these students Olympic style gold, silver, and bronze medals. In addition, the top five schools at each level (5-6 and 7-8) received overall trophies. The overall winner for grades 5-6 was Kitty Stone Elementary School School; for grades 7-8, the overall winner was Centre Middle School.

English Department faculty members assisted in making the competition successful by serving as judges, readers, and score keepers for the various competitions. Writing Project coordinators for the event were Gloria Horton, Mary Oliver, and Janet Smart.

Plans are already underway for next year’s competition. If you are teaching at this level and want to be sent information about the competition, contact Gloria Horton, Ext. 5409 to get your name on the mailing list. You may also e-mail her at ghorton@jsu.edu.

7-8 Grade Winners

Poetry Interpretation

1^st: Jillian Miles Jacksonville High School

Anna Welch Alexandria High School

2^nd: Rachel Altstatt Monrovia High School

Mary Beth Farley Hatton High School

3^rd: Marc Vital Jacksonville High School

Megan Roberts Wellborn High School

Essay

1^st: Beka Harris Monrovia High School

2^nd: Taylor Monroe Hatton High School

3^rd: Shelby Truitt Alexandria High School

Literary Clues

1^st: Judd Edwards

Cory Buffaloe

Joseph Rush Oxford Middle School

2^nd: Michael Hang

Louis Walley

Justin Rushing Arab Jr. High School

3^rd: Kendall Schnell

Drew Whisenant

Josh Benefield Arab Jr. High School

Jonathan Chumley

Josh Oliver

Casey Ferris Jacksonville High School

Public Speaking

1^st: Elizabeth Case Jacksonville High School

Laura McCarenty Alexandria High School

2^nd: Megan Wilson Monrovia

Robert Cash Centre Middle School

3^rd: Laura Risse Jacksonville High School

Jessica King Wellborn High School

Home Run Heroes

1^st: Josh Oliver

Chelsea Chandler Jacksonville High School

2^nd: Jason Davis

Brad Dempsey Oxford Middle School

3^rd: Brendan Rice

Tyler Aveni Donoho

Language Trivia

1^st: Michael Hang

Lauren Ellenburg

Emily Couch Arab Jr. High School

Sarah Wiedeman

Abby Thompson

Stephen King Alexandria High School

2^nd: Kendahl Schnell

Drew Whisenant

Josh Benefield Arab Jr. High School

3^rd: Seth Walson

Angel Carter

Virginia Ann Jordan Centre Middle School

Greg St. Clair

Chip Senkbeil

Laken Landen Donoho

Skits

1^st: Joseph Rush

Cory Buffaloe

Tyler Gable Oxford Middle School

Chip Senkbeil

Tyler Aveni

Laken Landen Donoho

2^nd: Brittany Hunt

Seth Walson

Virginia Ann Jordan Centre Middle School

3^rd: Jennifer Owen

Elizabeth Faust

Laura Maxwell

(Brittney Davis?) Monrovia

Tara Dawn Blanchard

Kyle Acker

Meagan Hill Centre Middle School

Let’s Play Bingo

1^st: Robert Guice Centre Middle School

2^nd: John Simmons Jacksonville High School

What’s in a Name

1^st: Heather Walker

Kelsey Hill Hokes Bluff

Drew Whisenant

Josh Benefield Arab Jr. High School

Will Bailey

Angel Carter Centre Middle School

Literary Jeopardy

1^st: Seth Walson Centre Middle School

2^nd: Megan Steenberg Oxford Middle School

3^rd: Shannon Kinney Jacksonville High School

At the Root of It All

1^st: Brittany Hunt Centre Middle School

2^nd: Emily Gray Jacksonville High School

3^rd: Casey Ferris Jacksonville High School

Spelling Bee

1^st: Jesse Jordan Centre Middle School

2^nd: Chloe Malone Hatton High School

3^rd: Keegan Stephens Hokes Bluff

School Winners

1^st Place Centre Middle School

2^nd Place Jacksonville High School

3^rd Place Alexandria High School

4^th Place Oxford Middle School

5^th Place Arab Junior High

5-6 Grade Winners

Public Speaking

1^st Jarae White Kitty Stone Elementary

2^nd Kameron Blair Cleburne County Elementary

3^rd Jenna Mullins Hokes Bluff Middle School

Poetry Interpretation

1^st Caitlyn Taylor Cleburne County Elementary

2^nd DeVakius Gilbert Kitty Stone

3^rd Emily Shelton Cleburne County

Essay

1^st Amanda Cooper White Plains

2^nd Hunter Amberson Kitty Stone

3^rd Emily Stephenson Hokes Bluff

Spelling Bee

1^st Marilyn Higdon Hokes Bluff

2^nd Tiffani Willingham Hokes Bluff

3^rd Rebecka Griffin Kitty Stone

Skits

1^st Savannah Jones Kitty Stone

Taylor Palmer

Yaasameen Al-Hamdani

2^nd Marlena Woodard White Plains

Nick Soth

Brittany Creek

3^rd Jenna Mullins Hokes Bluff Middle School

Anna Alexander

Marilyn Higdon

Language Trivia

1^st Susan Chesnut Centre Middle

Laci Roberts

Colin Perrey

2^nd Mollie Lancaster Hokes Bluff A

Ashley Hicks

Logan Payne

3^rd Savanna Lee Hokes Bluff B

Lanae Kilgore

Andrea Griffith

Literary Clues

1^st Leo Johnson Kitty Stone

Caitlin Harris

Bradley Brittain

2^nd Kameron Blair Cleburne County Elementary

Hunter Dryden

Josh Swanson

3^rd Hillary Henderson Kitty Stone

Matthew Gunter

Rebeka Griffin

At the Root of It All

1^st Katie Beecham White Plains

2^nd Mackenzie Cash Cleburne County

3^rd Kaitlyn Stuart White Plains

Home Run Heroes

1^st Chelsey Wilkie Centre Middle

MaryBeth Brannon

2^nd Kameron Blair Cleburne County

Kaylyn Williams

3^rd Joe Shaw Centre Middle

Caleb Hayes

What’s In a Name?

1^st Rebecka Griffin Kitty Stone A

Caitlyn Harris

2^nd Robby Leck Kitty Stone B

Leo Johnson

3^rd Erin Faulkner Hokes Bluff

Jessie Kelly

School Winners

1^st Kitty Stone Elementary

2^nd Hokes Bluff Middle

3^rd Cleburne County Elementary

4^th White Plains

5^th Centre Middle School