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Amazing Results For PCA Students In Art & Writing Contest!!!

What do Stephen King, Amanda Gorman, Joyce Carol Oates, Andy Warhol and several PCA students have in common? They all won prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards as teens! 

This is PCA’s second year entering the highly competitive Scholastic Art & Writing Contest and the first time entering the Writing categories. In the regional contest, 6 PCA students won a total of 13 awards! 

In the Art Awards, senior Zella Horton (AP Art) won 7 awards, including a Gold Key for her oil painting, Natty, which will automatically be entered into the National Contest. She also won three Silver Keys, including one for a portfolio, and three Honorable Mentions. 

This is the first year we have offered Creative Writing & Illustration to high school students. From this class, in the Writing category, freshman Trey Wilson won a Gold Key Award for his Humor Short Story, "The Thought Dump." Sophomore Angelina Xiong won two Silver Keys and junior Josh Howard won a Silver Key Award. Two more Honorable Mentions were awarded to freshman Ben Marlow and senior, Gabe Clark.

Gold Key award winners are automatically entered into the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Gold and Silver Key award winners will be honored at a ceremony at Savannah College of Art & Design on Saturday, March 11 and their work will be on exhibit at SCAD from March 5-11. For more information about the awards, visit the Scholastic arts & writing awards webpage.

Congratulations to all of our gifted students for their dedication to craft and hard work!

Writing Awards:

Trey Wilson - Gold Key - "The Thought Dump" - Humor

Angelina Xiong - Silver Key - "Welcome Home" - Science Fiction & Fantasy

Angelina Ziong - Silver Key - "Finally Found" - Flash Fiction

Josh Howard - Silver Key - "Captain Bard's Path of Destruction" - Short Story

Benjamin Marlow - Honorable Mention - "The Cell" - Flash Fiction

Gabe Clark - Honorable Mention - "Shell & Skele-bird" - Poetry

Art Awards:

Zella Horton - Gold Key - "Natty" - Painting

Zella Horton - Silver Key - "Two Zellas" - Painting

Zella Horton - Silver Key - "Even After" - Portfolio

Zella Horton - Silver Key - "After the Rain" - Drawing & Illustration

Zella Horton - Honorable Mention - "Glass" - Photography

Zella Horton - Honorable Mention - "Grand Daddy" - Painting

Zella Horton - Honorable Mention - "After the Fire" - Painting

Published Author Visits Kindergarten Classroom

Have you ever looked in a mirror and felt your reflection looks a little different than you would have imagined? 

If so, you are not alone! In Mirror Friends: Find the Magic Within, a world created by three time author Lee Heyward (illustrated by Marty Peterson), that means you may be seeing the winning attributes of a lion, a zebra, or even an ant!

Heyward takes her readers through the journey of self traits, to see that inside each of them they have bravery like a lion, and magic like a unicorn, creativity like a zebra, playfulness like a puppy, intelligence like an owl, and a whole lot more.

“I thought this was a wonderful idea to bring in the author and build a stronger connection to a book,” said kindergarten teacher Kari Silvester. “This exposure helped our students learn more about the process of writing a book and they loved the activities we did afterwards. They allowed them to be creative thinkers and reflect on their own lives through the story. It also allowed them to illustrate their own part of the story.”

The students listened attentively as Heyward posed questions as they read, and then answered students' questions afterwards. Curious minds wanted to know, “Was it hard to write the book?” (not hard, but ending rhyme words can be tricky!) and “How long did it take?” (the writing part, not that long, the editing and publishing took a bit longer!)

“That was a really special treat for me,” said Heyward. “It was so neat to hear the kids' reactions and their sweet questions.”

PCA thanks Mrs. Heyward for coming to read and talk to our kindergarten classes and giving us a chance to think, and to remember, “Everything you need comes from right inside of you!”