The spirit of patriotism is alive and well locally thanks to the dedication of a group of students and teachers, plus North Oakland Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 334 in Oxford.
Post 334 honored this year’s student winners of the 2013-14 Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy contests along with Teacher of the Year recipients.
For the Patriot’s Pen contest, sixth-through-eighth-graders were asked to write a 300-to-400-word essay on the theme, ‘Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans.?
Winners from Oxford Middle School were (from first to fourth place) Katerina Dimcevski, Emma DiMalanta, Emma Vawter and Madeline Lukens.
Winners from Van Hoosen Middle School in Rochester Hills included (from first to fourth place) Clayton Kramm, Sydney Reed, Alexander Popa and Soyoung Cho.
Derek Joslin, of Clarkston, won first place in the Voice of Democracy contest. Open to students in grades 9-12, the Voice of Democracy requires participants to create written and audio versions of a speech. This year’s topic was, ‘Why Veterans are Important to our Nation’s History and Future.?
Winning Teacher of the Year at the middle school level was Cathy Brennen-Stover. Elementary level Teacher of the Year recipients included (from first to fourth place) Jill Powers, Lisa Brennan, Rita Flynn and Shanie Williams.
This award recognizes educators who promote citizenship and patriotism in classrooms and schools.