St. Joseph Students Receive Multiple Literary Honors
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — St. Joseph Central High School honors writer Taylor Jordao finished in the top 1 percent of nearly 3,000 writers in the Letters About Literature writing contest, sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for the Book.
In recognition for her letter to author Shel Silverstein, Jordao and 14 other high school writers received commendations at the March 15 ceremony at the State House in the Great Hall. Jordao also met with Sen. Benjamin Downing, a St. Joseph alumnus (class of 1999).
Other St. Joseph students finishing as Letters About Literature semi-finalists, in the top 10 percent of entries, were: Elizabeth Bean, Ilyssa Creamer, Camila Gomez, Leanne Hamilton, Michael Peplowski, Nicholas Terpak and Edouard Tremblay.
Locally, four St. Joseph seniors were recognized in the 2016 "Real Women" Essay Contest, sponsored by the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center. Taking first place in the Grade 12 category is Casidy Starbird-Healey, who wrote about Nicci Starbird. Anita Curtin placed second, writing about Kara Curtin. Receiving Honorable mention is Zhiling (Will) Liang, who wrote about Xue Ping Peng. In the Mary Ellen Ausman category, Jiabin (Carl) Liu's essay was about Meidi Gua. The awards ceremony took place at Berkshire Community College on March 30.
Principal Amy Gelinas contributes the outstanding achievements of St. Joseph’s students to their strong work ethic and the unique learning opportunities the school is able to provide.
“Small classes make it conducive for teachers to lead students into deeper areas of study based on their interests and learning levels,” Gelinas said.
Last month, St. Joseph’s senior English classes gathered together for a lecture presented by Dr. Simon Silbelman, distinguished professor of Judaic, Holocaust and Peace studies, and former executive director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum. Silbelman’s presentation was the culmination of a Holocaust unit during which students read and discussed “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, “Survival in Auschwitz” by Primo Levi, and excerpts from “Night” by Elie Wiesel. According to Gelinas, the school plans to bring in additional experts to enhance its academic curriculum in the upcoming school year.
Established in 1897, St. Joseph Central High School is a college preparatory school that is rooted in the tradition of Catholic Education. For more information call 413-447-9121 or visit stjosephpittsfield.org.
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