Eleven 8th grade students from St. Joseph School in Randolph recently participated in the Ohio Power of the Pen Interscholastic Writing Competition Program for young writers. The district tournament was held at James A. Garfield Middle School in January.

Elizabeth Rhoades, writing coach, worked with the group of eighth grade students for two months leading up to the tournament; the students worked hard to prepare for the competition. They attended after-school practice sessions two days a week. During these sessions, the students worked on their creative writing skills and wrote responses to practice writing prompts in 40-minute time periods. "As their writing coach, I have enjoyed seeing the students' creative writing abilities and was excited for them to demonstrate their talents at the tournament. The program provides the school an opportunity to showcase the various writing talents that its students hold. In addition, the program allows the teachers to strengthen the writing skills of all the students in an exciting and fun way" stated Rhoades.

Whittlesey and Gaither will advance to the regional tournament being held later this month at Kent State University with an opportunity to advance to the state level.

The Power of the Pen Program is designed specifically for 7th and 8th grade students and is in its 27th year. It is an interscholastic writing program that provides students with the opportunity to express their creative writing talent and write under pressure. The eighth graders from St. Joseph School were selected to participate in the district tournament, where they competed against students from 11 other schools. At the tournament, the students wrote in 40-minute rounds in groups against other opponents from different schools in the surrounding area. For more information on the Power of the Pen Program, visit their website at www.powerofthepen.org.

St. Joseph School is currently registering Pre-K through Grade 8 for the 2012-2013 academic year. St. Joseph School offers busing from area public school districts such as: Rootstown, Waterloo, and Field. St. Joseph Catholic School, in partnership with the Church, community and family, strives to provide a quality education in an atmosphere of Catholic Christian teachings and values. Students of all faiths welcome. Its goal is to promote the spiritual, academic, social, emotional, and physical excellence of our students. St. Joseph's School is historically known to have Alumni who have earned National Honors Scholars, National Honors Society, and High School Valedictorians. For more information, call the school office at 330.628.9555

Writing Coach Elizabeth Rhoades is pictured with St. Joseph 8th grade students who participated in the district Power of the Pen competition. L-R: Kaela Gaither,Joe Stalter,Margaret Pasko,Josh McGrath, Wyatt Steiner,Jordyn Rhoades, Hannah French,Colleen Cain, Bridget Neal, Michelle Whittlesey, Coach Rhoades, and Jessica Campbell.