New York,
NY (May
13,
2005) --
Junior Scholastic®, the leading social studies and current events magazine for students in grades 6-8, today announced the winners of its second annual “Hometown America” contest, which encourages students to apply the geography, history, map-making, non-fiction reading and writing skills they have learned throughout the year to discover and share interesting historical, cultural and geographical facts about their hometown.
From hundreds of essays submitted by students across the United States, the winning entry comes from Marisa Rieber, Lindsay Richardson, Maria Rotunda, Danielle Gigliotti, Catie O’Malley, Matt El-Tahch, and Jordan Englert of Brookline Regional Catholic School, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The students’ winning essay on their hometown of Pittsburgh, better known as “the Smoky City, the Steel City, or the City of Bridges (they have 270!)” was published in the May 9th issue of Junior Scholastic and will be read by millions of middle school students around the country.
“Junior Scholastic congratulates this terrific team of students for their well-researched, interesting entry, as well as all the runners up who submitted compelling essays on their hometowns. Once again, the ‘Hometown America’ contest was a successful way to encourage students from all across the nation to learn about their hometown and share these findings with their peers,” said Suzanne McCabe, Editor, Junior Scholastic.
With the assistance of their teacher, Mr. Galuska, Brookline Regional Catholic School students compiled a comprehensive look at the city of Pittsburgh, describing it as the perfect place to live, and highlighting the city’s remarkable history as pioneers of the steel industry. They also write about the many fun things to do in Pittsburgh, including thrill rides at Kennywood Amusement Park, exhibits at the Carnegie Science Center, and even more adventure at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. The students explained that Pittsburgh is also home to three professional sports teams: The Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins each have their own stadium, but share the same team colors - gold, black, and white. In addition, the students shared that the best way to get a great view of the city is to “take a ride on the Duquesne Incline.” It was originally built to get people to their homes on Mount Washington, the incline has gotten stuck only once in almost 128 years of operation!
Runners-up in the Junior Scholastic “Hometown America” contest are:
Students from Huntsville, AL in Mrs. Moore’s class at Mountain Gap Middle School
Students from Old Town, ME in Mrs. Gallant’s class at Leonard Middle School
Students from Plainview, NY in Mr. Iorio’s class at Plainview-Old Beth Page Middle School
To participate, contestants were required to write an article of about 500 words on their city, hometown, or region, detailing what makes it unique or different from other places. Participants were also asked to draw a map of their hometown’s location, including places that were mentioned in their story. To enter their essay, students were encouraged to conduct extensive research to gather accurate information and background on their hometown, often consulting their local library or town historian for assistance.
Scholastic is the largest publisher of educational magazines with 34 publications for grades Pre-K through 12, reaching over 25 million students and teachers across the country. Teachers rely on these publications to enhance instruction in such subjects as science, reading and language arts, math, social studies, current events, history, geography, world languages, and art. Scholastic News Online (
www.scholastic.com/news), the magazines’ online companion, gives teachers, students and parents an additional resource with which to learn about and discuss current events in the classroom and at home.
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site,
www.scholastic.com.