It is our great pleasure to announce the winners of this year’s Lighting the Fire Student Essay Contest. There were a number of outstanding entries and it is exciting to know that students continue to develop their writing voices, and take such interest in their communities.
In category 1 (grades 7-9) the first place winner is Sparrow Kennedy. Sparrow is 14, attending grade 9 at Miskooseepi School, in Bloodvein First Nation. He hopes to be an engineer and a mechanic someday, and he wrote about leadership using his prior knowledge of the eagle as an enduring symbol of leadership for First Nations people.
The second place winner in this category is Ally Ross. Ally is 14, attending grade 9 at Otter-Nelson River School, in Cross Lake First Nation. Ally wrote about her own student leadership experiences as a peer tutor, a captain of a sports team, and a budding politician.
In Category 2 (grades 10-12) the first place winner is Tori Krista-Lynn Ross. Tori is 18, attending grade 12 at Otter-Nelson River School in Cross Lake First Nation. Tori is interested in kinesiology and plays many sports year round. She wrote about leadership using the eagle’s abilities and habits as a metaphor for striving and overcoming challenges in life.
The second place winner in this category is Julie Lathlin. Julie is 17, attending grade 12 at Otter-Nelson River School in Cross Lake First Nation. Last summer, Julie volunteered at a youth camp, and she will be volunteering again this summer. Julie wrote about leadership and supported her ideas with interesting quotes from First Nations educational leaders.
We thank all contest participants for their outstanding efforts. It is always a pleasure to read students’ creative ideas and opinions about education and what they believe the future can hold. We especially thank those teachers who are committed to ensuring their students are prepared for the future by providing the skills necessary for effective communication, particularly essay writing.
We look forward to hearing the two top placed essays at this year’s Lighting the Fire Conference, May 6th through 8th!
