Young writers honoured

A handful of Nova Scotia’s best young writers were honoured recently at the Turning Points Awards Celebration at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford.

Run by The Learning Partnership, a national charity dedicated to improving public education, Turning Points is a unique project that promotes character building as well as literary excellence.

All across Canada, students from grade six and up are asked to submit a short personal essay describing a significant moment in their young lives. These stories — or turning points — could be about personal triumphs, tragic losses, or events that have shaped their lives.

No matter what they choose to write about, each story provides readers with a glimpse of the author’s humanity. The writing process encourages students to reflect on their character, their values, and goals for life going forward.

The submitted essays are reviewed by a panel of judges, and the winners from all over the country are published annually in The Learning Partnership’s Anthology of Award Winning Essays.

A total of 20 students from a variety of schools around HRM were honoured at Thursday’s ceremony. After reading their award-winning essays to the crowd, each student was given a framed plaque and a cash prize.

One story was about a young girl’s struggle with PTSD after a fire destroyed her home. Another was about the warm feeling of accomplishment after being cast in a school play. Some students wrote about happy moments, and others wrote about sad ones, but they all expressed eloquence well beyond their years.

Brenda Waterman, a program manager with The Learning Partnership, was extremely impressed by the stories she heard at the ceremony. A former school administrator, Waterman helped bring the Turning Points program to Nova Scotia.

“It can be difficult sometimes to bring children to the task of writing,” she said. “But with the right coaching, teaching and instruction, everyone has a story to tell. They’re important stories too, because they’ve made these children who they are. The Learning Partnership is a wonderful organization, and the Turning Points program is just awesome.”

Gabrielle Doucet, a Grade 12 student at Dartmouth High School, won the top prize in the Grade 11/12 category. Her essay was about making friends with some new students from Syria, and her experience watching them adjust to their new lives in Canada.

“I don’t think people give enough thought to how difficult it is for these refugees. The traumatic events of their pasts are still with them,” said Doucet. “I’m very passionate about this, so I thought it would be a good message and a good story to tell. When I started writing, it just flowed right away, and it turned into an essay I’m really proud of.”

Shawn Wagner, a Grade 10 student at Charles P. Allen High School, wrote about his whirlwind of emotions following the death of his grandfather. Wagner’s essay came second place in the Grade 9/10 category.

“Most writing projects aren’t too much fun, but I really enjoyed this one,” he said. “This really meant something to me, so it was great to be recognized and get the award. And of course, the money is nice too!”

For more information about The Learning Partnership and the Turning Points program, check out www.thelearningpartnership.ca.