In the words of OBHS art teacher Karen Crowley, “The quality of the written word developed at OBHS not only helps students earn admission to competitive colleges, it will carry them throughout their lives.”
Equipping students with the tools to succeed is so important in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Schools that children are taught to read by writing as early as kindergarten. Children make their own picture books and proudly share them with family and friends in writing celebrations held in the spring.
Teaching keeps focused on developing great writing skills straight through to the senior year in high school. The Oyster Bay High School “College Essay Writing Class” literally prepares students for their future in higher education.
The writing abilities nurtured over the years gets noticed. Recently, six OBHS students were winners in the Nassau Reading Council’s Young Authors’ Contest. The Nassau Reading Council’s Young Authors’ Contest is an annual writing contest charted by the International Reading Association and the New York State English Council. Winning entries are personal narratives or memoirs; writing derived from the author’s own experience. All work is original and completed in school, with the writers following the steps in the writing process. There were more than 1,000 entries submitted from 75 schools in Nassau County and only 45 student winners. The six winners from Oyster Bay were freshmen Charlotte Corker, Ashley Hazan and Krista Marino and seniors Olivia Ballone, Linda Cameron and Grace Wygand.
Crowley is the advisor for the OBHS student art and literary magazine, Agapae, which consistently wins awards. And this year is no exception: the Columbia Scholastic Press Association announced its top awards for scholastic publications at the 91st annual Scholastic Convention. This year a total of 1,203 newspapers, magazines and yearbooks and digital publications issued during the 2013-14 academic year were eligible for judging in the 2015 Crown Awards Program. Agapae won a High School Magazine Silver Crown Award.
The Agapae staff was invited to speak at Columbia University. On March 19, Crowley, co-managing editors Justine Colvin and Robin Yeh, past managing editor Aubri Juhasz, art and design editor Sienna Kuo and literary editor Mia Di Meo made a presentation to a packed house.
