A select group of Memorial students were recognized by Lyndhurst VFW Post 7536 for their participation in the Patriot’s Pen essay writing competition with a special pizza luncheon and award assembly in the Media Center on Tuesday, December 11, 2018. Sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Patriot’s Pen is a national essay contest for students in grades 6-8 which provides them an opportunity to express their views on an annual patriotic theme. For the 2018-19 competition, students were asked to reflect on the theme “Why I Honor the American Flag” in a 300-400-word essay. Many of the approximately forty-five participating Memorial students were from the 7th Grade Honors English Language Arts classes taught by teachers Toni Newton, Angela Auletta and Bob Bell. Students Brandon Grant, Antonio Marallo and Alana Silverman were recognized by local sponsor Lyndhurst VFW Post 7536 for writing the Top 3 Essays, which were sent to the district-level competition. In addition, the following students were listed in the Honorable Mention category: Brandon Berry, Alexander Brown, Jada Butler, Caitlyn Crismor, Mason Daniels, Alexiana Flowers, Nadiyah Gaines, Michael McKenzie, Jamie Payne, Arielle Thompson, Kimberly Garcia Valle and Sujood Yakout. The SEL Schools congratulates each of these students on their proud accomplishment!
