Canterbury Lower School Students Celebrate Creative Writing Excellence

Young authors in Canterbury’s Lower School recently showcased their creativity and storytelling talents through this year’s student writing program, which invited every Kindergarten through fourth-grade student to craft original stories.

All students in grades K–4 participated by writing stories in class, giving each child the opportunity to develop and share their ideas through writing. For students in grades 1–4, two winning entries were selected from each classroom after judging, recognizing exceptional creativity, originality, and effort. Kindergarten students also participated enthusiastically; while their entries were not judged competitively, each class had a dedicated judge who read every story and provided encouraging positive feedback to all young writers. 

In addition to the classroom contest, students also had the option to submit independent entries written at home. From these submissions, two winners were selected from each grade level, highlighting students who went above and beyond to continue their writing outside the classroom.

Third- and fourth-grade students were also eligible to enter the Independent Plus category, which challenges students to create longer, more developed stories. This year’s Hamlin Award Plaque, presented to the top Independent Plus entry, was awarded to Caroline Kinne for her outstanding work.

In-Class Writing Winners

First Grade: Mars Anthony, Elena Westfall, Joseph Estrada, Levi Rifkin, Jack Chen, Lucas Gonzales
Second Grade: Genna Gioia, Audrey Steinhofer, Abernathy Schaefer, Evie Fiechter, Chloe North, Arya Farooqui
Third Grade: Isla Hugenberg, Eliana Nwankwo, James Kent, Kiera Beuchel, Lillian Exner, Owen Eckert
Fourth Grade: Toni Fawibe, Sophie Spindler, Wyatt Nelson, Sophia Kim, Alexander El-Moslimany, Jackie Hugenberg

Independent Writing Winners

Kindergarten: Luke Wegmet, Danica Hurse
First Grade: Ada Junk, Everly Nilsson
Second Grade: Arya Farooqui, Marion Marr
Third Grade: Teagan Arnold, Maggie Updegraff
Fourth Grade: Jane Westfall, Hannah Burnham

This annual writing celebration reflects Canterbury’s commitment to nurturing creativity, confidence, and communication skills in its youngest learners. Congratulations to all of this year’s participants and winners for their imagination and hard work!