MISSION VIEJO : Sixth-Graders Win Local Essay Contest
Inspired by their favorite books and the recent turmoil in Los Angeles, a group of Barcelona Hills Elementary School sixth-graders recently took first place in a local essay contest.
Several youngsters in Kaye Denison’s sixth-grade class wrote about S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” and “Escape From Warsaw,” a story of children in World War II, Principal Suzette Lovely said.
Ironically, the children were reading “The Outsiders,” a tale about young boys coping with gang pressures, at the time riots were raging in Los Angeles.
“They told about the riots and how we as a society need to help kids from becoming gang members,” Lovely said.
“It was really timely,” she added. “The children really like this book. It deals with teen-age issues and things they can relate to. It also shows there is good in everybody.”
The essays were written by 28 students in the form of letters to students in the year 2092. Five of the essays from the class will be enclosed in a time capsule that will be buried at Mission Viejo Mall, which sponsored the contest.
For their winning efforts, Denison’s class won a pizza party at the mall and a certificate.
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