Sawyer Mowry wins District Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition

Sawyer Mowry, a kindergarten student at Leroy Massey Elementary School, won the District Level Young Georgia Authors writing competition and will have his story, “I am a Chattooga Wrestler” judged at the State Competition.

The purpose of the Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition is to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics.

This prestigious competition has been engaging Georgia students for more than two decades and is open to any student currently enrolled in Georgia public schools, grades K -12. The competition is sponsored by the Georgia Language Arts Supervisors (GLAS) and the Georgia RESA Network with support from the Georgia Department of Education. ​

The Young Georgia Authors writing competition is a prestigious competition that has been engaging Georgia students for more than two decades and is open to any student currently enrolled in Georgia public schools, grades K-12. The competition is sponsored by the Georgia Council of Teachers of English (GCTE) with the Georgia Department of Education support and cooperation.

The purpose of the Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition is to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics.

Sawyer has ‘Writer’s Workshop’ daily from 7:55-8:45 a.m. in Mrs. Groce’s class. This is a time that is devoted to teaching students about the importance of writing skills. Students write stories, illustrate the story and then read their story to the class. After the story is read the class is allowed to give the student in the author’s chair feedback. This can be questions to the author or simply stating what part of the story they like best.

“Sawyer is an excellent writer and student,” Mrs. Groce said. “Teaching Kindergarten is so rewarding because kids show a tremendous amount of growth over the course of the school year. Sawyer is an exceptional student that came into my room eager to learn. We work hard to challenge each of our students every day, and Sawyer never ceases to meet the high expectations we have for him. I’m thrilled for him to receive this recognition as he has definitely earned it.”

Unlike many writing competitions, the YGA does not provide a prompt to which students must respond or provide any other boundaries to their genre choice or creativity.

Short Stories
Poetry
Essays/Literary Criticism/Analysis
Journalism
Academic/Research Reports
Personal Narratives
Any Other Original Student Writing