Sacred Heart Greenwich students won 20 awards in the 2022 Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.  Sixteen of these were writing awards, two were photography awards, one was for animation, and one was for drawing.  Scholastic awards Honorable Mentions to “promising works,” Silver Keys to “distinguished works,” Gold Keys to “the most accomplished works,” and American Voice nominations to the “the strongest regional works,” according to writopialab.org.

The Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ goal is to discover talented writers and artists, as well as to recognize students for their work.  The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards began in 1923.  Students from seventh grade to twelfth grade can submit work in 28 categories of art and writing.  The judges evaluate submissions based on originality, technical skills, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision, according to artandwriting.org. 

Sacred Heart freshman Kensington Bleuel and Emily Shull, sophomores Bridget McGrath, Catherine Ruf, Belen Scheggia, Emily Sedgwick, and Lindsay Taylor, juniors Nadia Borja, Isobel Costello, Jhonni Dixon, Gigi Gazal, Annie Finn, Katie May, and Gabrielle Wheeler, and senior Angélique Wheeler won awards for writing.  Of the 16 writing awards, students won 13 Honorable Mentions and three Silver Keys.  These awards were for poetry, critical essays, personal essays, memoirs, and short stories.  

Katie received a Silver Key for her poem, “Life Before.” Katie’s poem is about coming of age and the realization that childhood is ending.  

“It’s about learning that an idyllic childhood cannot last forever and about the feeling of trying to belong in a life that you’re not truly meant for.  It’s also about trying to come to terms with loss while the rest of the world continues around you,” Katie said.  “Most importantly, it’s about dreaming to return to the past, when you hadn’t yet suffered the harshness of death and grief.”

Students can submit work to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 17 different art categories, according to artandwriting.org.  Three Sacred Heart students won awards in the Drawing and Illustration, Photography, and Film and Animation categories.

In the art portion of the competition, freshman Meghan McGrath earned an Honorable mention in the Drawing and Illustration category for, “Mixed Media Spray Bottle,” Sophomore Maggie Bacigalupo won an Honorable Mention for her photograph, “Dealey Plaza,” and junior Zara Black won an Honorable Mention for her photograph, “Greenhouse.”  During the month of January, the Hartford Art School gallery displayed these students’ work.  Senior Elisa Taylor won a Gold Key in the Film and Animation category for her piece, “Bento Love.”  Maggie commented on the inspiration behind her winning photo.

“I was in Texas for a lacrosse tournament and to pass time with some of my teammates we went to the JFK Memorial Museum which is directly on the road he was shot,” Maggie said.  “There were two big white X’s in the road to demonstrate the exact spots he was shot.  I wanted to submit this photo because I thought the outdoor museum was an amazing tribute to John F. Kennedy and all of his work during his presidency.”

Mrs. Sarah Martin, Upper School English Teacher, commented on the importance of the Scholastic Writing Awards for Sacred Heart students.  Mrs. Martin believes that the Scholastic Writing Awards are a great way for students to take risks, explore other genres, and have the opportunity to share their work outside of the school community.  Mrs. Martin commented on the importance of the awards.

“Sacred Heart students are curious and bold thinkers, and their creative writing reflects their keen engagement with the world.” Mrs. Martin said.  “Additionally, in English classes, students relentlessly revise and rewrite their essays, and so they often apply this disciplined approach into their creative writing as well.”

Featured Image by Isabella Nardis ’24