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NCDS News

Fourty-Two Students Honored with Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
It was another impressive year for Newton Country Day in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, earning the fourth highest total number of writing awards in Massachusetts with 48.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is the nation's longest-running, largest, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers in the United States. The awards are presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a non-profit whose mission is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent.

Forty-eight writing awards were given to 37 different students, marking the the second-most writing awards NCDS has received in a single year. In 2022, NCDS received 50 awards after earning 28 in 2021. Newton’s 48 honors ranked higher than a number of local high schools including Dana Hall, BB&N, Winsor School, Concord Academy, Wellesley HS, and Newton North HS.

Writing Awards

Gold Key
S. Arokiaraj ’24 – “Circus” (Poetry)
A. Bradley ’25 – “My American Dreams” (Flash Fiction)
M. Gavin ’24 – “Ride Through the Past” (Flash Fiction)
A. Goodman ’25 – “And Yet, the Shoes Remain” (Poetry)
                           – “Reach, Root, Pull” (Flash Fiction)
                           – “The Art of Remembering” (Poetry)
M. Hickey ’24 – “The Woman Who Lived in My Head for Two Weeks” (Humor)
D. Woolbert ’23 – “Exiting Eden” (Science Fiction)

Silver Key
C. Anderson ’24 – “Actions Speak Louder Than Words: The Impact of Churchill’s World War II Speeches” (Critical Essay)
E. Christian ’27 – “A Reflection on Falling in the Middle” (Personal Essay & Memoir)
R. Delaney ’23 – “Duplication” (Science Fiction)
M. DeSisto ’25 – “Mental Health in Student Athletes” (Critical Essay)
A. Goodman ’25 – “The Tale of Silvia Seren Akirkja” (Dramatic Script)
E. Hatem ’23 – What Happens in Barrington (Novel Writing)
M. Huber ’25 – “Rooted” (Flash Fiction)
F. Jobson ’25 – “Still Good Friends” (Flash Fiction)
N. Joyce ’25 – “The Lane that Leads to Victory” (Flash Fiction)
E. Knopp ’24 – “Pull Me Up/Pull Her Up” (Poetry)
                      – “Thick Scarlet Al-Amira” (Poetry)
L. Melodia ’25 – “Holy Cow” (Humor)
A. Spalding ’25 – “Place, Replace, Unplace” (Poetry)
D. Woolbert ’23 – Research, Reflection, and Reverie (Senior Writing Portfolio)

Honorable Mention
S. Arokiaraj ’24 – Count to Ten (Novel Writing)
C. Bizup ’23 – Voices and Perspectives on Social Justice (Senior Writing Portfolio)
K. Busby ’23 – “My Lai: The Policy of War” (Journalism)
M. Capplis ’24 – “An Unsuspecting Grievance” (Flash Fiction)
N. Coburn ’23 – “Lilac Sunday” (Personal Essay & Memoir)
M. DeSisto ’25 – “When the Weeds Grow” (Flash Fiction)
M. Gavin ’24 – “A Confession of Faith” (Flash Fiction)
                     – “Her Lore” (Poetry)
A. Goodman ’25 – “Saturday” (Flash Fiction)
G. Goodman ’27 – “The Inventor” (Science Fiction)
A. Grover ’25 – “Guarding a Life” (Flash Fiction)
S. He ’23 – Light (Senior Writing Portfolio)
E. Kfoury ’25 – “Beginnings and Ends” (Flash Fiction)
A. Lynch ’23 – Coming of Age in the Twenties (Senior Writing Portfolio)
E. Monahan ’25 – “A Diamond Blue Hue” (Poetry)
E. Nero ’23 – “The Complex History of Enmity Between Me and the Bees” (Humor)
A. O’Neill ’24 – “Caved In” (Flash Fiction)
A. Ransome ’23 – Letters From Across the Sea (Novel Writing)
A. Rupp ’24 – “Teenage Years” (Poetry)
T. Santaniello ’25 – “When Life Gave Me Lemons” (Poetry)
A. Spalding ’25 – “Don’t Leave the Work for Us: Climate Change and the Future of Young People” (Journalism)
M. Sullivan ’25 – “Homer” (Flash Fiction)
N. Sullivan ’23 – “The Bone Dancer” (Poetry)
L. Tranter ’25 – “Snake Lady” (Short Story)
D. Walsh ’24 – “Becoming Conscious of the Unconscious: How Sigmund Freud Sparked a Revolution in the Treatment of Mental Disorders” (Critical Essay)
D. Zahos ’25 – “Ocean Memories: A Haiku Cycle” (Poetry)

Additionally, 6 students were recognized for their artwork.

Art Awards

Gold Key
K. Severino ’24 – Colored Pencil on Toned Paper, Drawing & Illustration: Portrait with Hands
D. Walsh ’24 – Acrylic on Panel, Painting: Portrait of Smoker
S. Walters ’23 – Acrylic, Charcoal and White Charcoal, Drawing & Illustration: Goldfish Waterfall
G. Zhang ’26 – Drawing & Illustration: Red-gilled Nudibranch on Solitary Hydroid

Silver Key
S. Walters ’23 – Art Portfolio: The Real World 

 



Honorable Mention
K. Severino ’24 – Graphite, Drawing & Illustration: Self Portrait
                          –  Pastel, Drawing & Illustration: Tears and Lake
A. Touloukian ’25 – Charcoal and Acrylic, Drawing and Illustration: Self Portrait
G. Turco ’24 – Graphite, Drawing & Illustration: Portrait
S. Walters ’23 – Charcoal and Acrylic Wash, Drawing and Illustration: Self Portrait Texting
G. Zhang ’26 – Drawing & Illustration: Mental Block

Students across the United States submit original works each year to be reviewed by a panel of judges who look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. The Gold Key writing and art will be displayed at Breed Hall at Tufts University from March 18-25. That work has also been sent to New York for National Award consideration. National Award winners will be announced on March 23.