Eight Hawaii Preparatory Academy students were among 25 winners of the 11th annual My Hawai‘i Story Contest sponsored by the Pacific Writers’ Connection.
Eight Hawaii Preparatory Academy students were among 25 winners of the 11th annual My Hawai‘i Story Contest sponsored by the Pacific Writers’ Connection.
The theme of this year’s contest was “He Wa‘a, He Moku, Malama Honua, Caring for our Island Earth,” celebrating the return of the voyaging canoe Hokule‘a to Hawaii from its worldwide journey.
The winners are Grace Bostock, Roisin Darby, Morgan Davis, Koa Higgins, Gabriel Kalama, Kamaha‘o Liu, Katherine Payne and Ella Prado.
The students will be presented with awards and prizes July 17 during the Hawaii Conservation Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu.
My Hawai‘i is an annual environmental writing contest for middle school students in grades 6-8 from throughout the state. The top 25 poems and short stories were selected from 305 submissions and will be published in an anthology distributed to schools and libraries statewide and online on the Hawaii Conservation Alliance site.
The students’ writing represents their personal reflections on the environment, cultural values, kuleana, stewardship and place-based writing, and contributes to a collection of youth literature unique to Hawaii. To date, 275 middle school students have had their stories and poems about the environment published.
“While academic testing provides a measure of content knowledge, creative writing and this writing initiative captures and shares Hawaii students’ thoughts, passions, beliefs, concerns and values,” said Takiora Ingram, co-founder/executive director of Pacific Writers’ Connection and the My Hawai‘i writing contest.
“The future of conservation and environmental leadership lies firmly in the hands our haumana, the young people of Hawaii,” Ingram said. “This important initiative encourages, nurtures, cultivates and promotes future generations to develop a sense of responsibility to care for and protect Hawaii’s environment.”
For more information about the contest and the Pacific Writers’ Connection, visit www.pacificwriters.org.