(Rising 7th - 12th) For the past two years, our students won more than 100 awards, including one national gold medal, two national  silver medals, 43 Gold Keys, 41 Silver Keys, 33 Honorable Mention awards, in the Scholastic National Writing Contests, the nation's most prestigious recognition program for young writers in grades 7–12. (Click here for details)

Such awards demonstrate students' high-level writing skills and add a  heavyweight to their resumes, boosting their advantages when applying to private high schools or colleges.

With its message to “Tell Your Story,” this class focuses on the art and science of writing the personal narrative. We begin by reading published memoirs to examine examples of strong writing in the genre.  We explore style, craft, and technique; through writing exercises, practice with various strategies, and an emphasis on the revision process, students learn to craft moments of meaning in the most compelling ways. Beyond helping students give voice to their personal stories, this course also aims to introduce them to nationally acclaimed writing contests, as well as prepare high schoolers for college application essays.  With applications both personal and practical, this writing class will benefit young writers who seek to tell their stories in beautiful, haunting, humorous, insightful and memorable words.

This class also helps students to better "tell" their personal  stories to the private school or college admission officers in their essays to strengthen their application status.