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Nan Rushing Write-Off a perfect end to national Read Across America Week
Winners announced in annual competition
Mental Concentration winners included seventh grade, Chaeyeong Oh, first, William James; Ella Brady, second, Southeast Bulloch; sixth grade, Natalie Hendrix, first, Portal; Daniel Davtyan, second, Southeast Bulloch; eighth grade, Owen Purcell, first, Portal; and Phoebe Hansen, second, Langston Chapel.
Saturday, March 4, was National Grammar Day, marking the end of Read Across America Week in Bulloch County. The perfect way to end the celebration was the 37th annual Nan Rushing Write-Off, sponsored by Barr Law Offices LLC of Statesboro.
Students from Southeast Bulloch Middle, Portal Middle High, Langston Chapel Middle and William James Middle schools competed as individuals in eight English language arts categories including capitalization/punctuation, mental concentration, persuasive speech, narrative writing, persuasive writing, vocabulary, spelling and usage/language expression.
Their scores and placements earn points for an overall school team score. Awards were given to the top two scoring individuals for each grade level (sixth, seventh, eighth) in each category, for each overall grade level team, and the overall winning school.
The competition was started in 1985 by then language arts teacher Nan Rushing, who had received a $1,000 mini-grant from the school system to begin a writing event in Nevils. Of the 10 mini-grants awarded in 1985 by former School Superintendent Ed Wynn, the Nan Rushing Write-Off and the Penny Sikes Math Tournament are the two remaining programs that have stood the test of time and offered a valuable tool for encouraging students in math and language arts.
Narrative Writing winners were (front row, left to right) sixth grade, Evan Mackelprang, first place, Southeast Bulloch; and Zoey Lanier, second place, Portal. On the back row, eighth grade, Emma Hilde, first, Southeast Bulloch; seventh grade, Anna Claire Newman, first, Southeast Bulloch; Janie Cowan, second, Southeast Bulloch; and eighth grade, Anna Adams, second, William James.
Persuasive Speech winners included (front row, left to right) sixth grade, Caden Kruen, first place, Southeast Bulloch; and Noah Williams, second place, William James. On the back row, eighth grade, Dane Gardner, first place, Southeast Bulloch; seventh grade, Savannah Gordon, first place, Southeast Bulloch; seventh grade, Eason Mallard, second place, Portal Middle High School; and eighth grade, Kaylin Warren, second place, Portal Middle High.
Persuasive Writing winners were (front row, left to right), seventh grade, Sienna Fox, first, Southeast Bulloch; Grace Landers, second, William James; sixth grade, Kenzie Brown, first, Portal; and Madelyn Williams, second, Southeast Bulloch. Shown on the back row, are eighth grade, Lorelei Prosser, first, William James; and Katielyn Yates, second, Portal.
Spelling winners were seventh grade, McKenzie Pedersen, first, Langston Chapel; Emily Johnson, second, Southeast Bulloch; sixth grade, Daniel Choi, first, Southeast Bulloch; James Braddock, second, William James; eighth grade, Justine Wu, first, Southeast Bulloch; and Ashley Avera, second, Southeast Bulloch.
Usage & Language Expression winners included seventh grade, Mia Kersey, first, Southeast Bulloch; Sierra Skrak, Langston Chapel; sixth grade, Hanna Hodges, first, Southeast Bulloch; Lucas Pryor, second, Southeast Bulloch; eighth grade, Ellie Branch, first, Southeast Bulloch; and Ohm Pandya, Southeast Bulloch.
Vocabulary winners included eighth grade, Madison Holmes, second, William James; seventh grade, Austin Wheaton, second, William James; and Riley Ellis, first place, Southeast Bulloch. (Not picture were eighth grade, Justine Wu, first, Southeast Bulloch; sixth grade, Lawson Boyles, first, Southeast Bulloch; and James Braddock, second, William James.
The overall winner was Southeast Bulloch Middle School and and Southeast Bulloch grade level winning teachers are pictured with Nan Rushing, in black, front row.
Nan Rushing, at left, started the competition while teaching in Bulloch County Schools in the 1980s. She received a grant at that time for a writing event in Nevils, and it has grown to a county-wide competition.
