WATERLOO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Five WCDSB Students Honoured with OECTA Young Authors Awards

Five students from OECTA Waterloo have been recognized by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) for excellence in writing. The Young Authors Awards/Prix jeunes écrivains acknowledge English and French writing, from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12, in categories ranging from poetry and short stories, and from plays to non-fiction.

"It's always exciting to get a glimpse into the minds of young writers" says Chris Stockie, OECTA Waterloo President. "In this year's Young Author's/jeunes écrivains program, topics ranged from fantasy and science fiction, to how the Internet affects the lives of students. It was great to see students enjoying the creative process of incorporating comedy into their work. The fantastic work from these students is truly a testimony of the amazing teachers we have in the WCDSB!"

OECTA has sponsored the Young Authors/jeunes écrivainsawards as aneffective literacy program in Catholic schools since 1985. Winners are selected from hundreds of entries from across the province. For every student who makes it to the provincial level of competition, there are thousands more who participate in, and benefit from, the program locally.

Warm congratulations to the winning entries for 2017 from Waterloo:

• Alexandra Rose, St. Anne (Kitchener), Grade 3-4 Story entitled "Caribbean Mist"
• Mateo Nosic, St. Teresa of Calcutta, Grade 5-6 Story entitled "Fixing the Fixed"
• Caitlyn Mask, St. Kateri, Grade 7-8 Story entitled "The Things We Leave Behind"
• Candice Rubie, St. David CSS, Grade 9-10 Story entitled "7 Minutes"
• Jacy Morneau, St. Nicholas, Grade 7-8 Short Story entitled "Un monde qui n'est pas la maison"

OECTA represents the almost 45,000 professionals who teach all grades in publicly funded English Catholic schools in Ontario.