The Maine Region of the Scholastic Writing Competition has named ten middle-school students from Edgecomb’s Center for Teaching and Learning as recipients of its 2016 awards for excellence in writing. Many of the students won multiple prizes for submissions in different genres.

Eighth grader Sydney Sullivan of Portland received the competition’s highest honor, a Gold Key, for her poetry. She was also named as an American Voices Nominee — an honor received by only three other Maine writers. Her work has been submitted for judging at the national level.

Silver Key Award Winners are Nolan Anderson of Newcastle (humor writing), Nicco Bartone of Georgetown (poetry), Kaleb Brackley-Prouty of Alna (memoir), Emma Collins of Woolwich (poetry), Hope McSherry of Edgecomb (poetry), Zoe Ruff of Bath (poetry), and Sydney Sullivan (critical essay).

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Nolan Anderson (poetry), Ella Beauregard of Southport (poetry), Lexi Haedrich of Wiscasset (poetry), and Katie Larson of Southport (poetry and memoir).

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the gold standard for recognizing the creative achievements of U.S. students in grades 7-12. The writers and their teacher, Anne Atwell Merkel, will be among those honored at a reception at the University of Southern Maine, sponsor of the state level of the Scholastic competition, on Friday, March 11.