Fourth Grade Teacher Chris Brennan reports on a recent writing activity his students enjoyed.
As part of Creative Writing in 4th grade, Beasley students brainstormed, wrote, revised, and digitally submitted a slew of “scary stories” over the past few weeks. Refreshingly, very few had to do with global pandemics, elections, or the looming threat of Middle School—though several creepy clowns did make trite appearances!
One of the benefits of a JK-12 school is the availability and willingness of students in different grades to read and “judge” the stories, and this was a perfect example of that cross-divisional collaboration. Mrs. Erin Hamill and the Community Services Committee reviewed the stories in “The Black Crow” category, Upper School English Teacher Tex Tourais’ students judged “The Underword,” Student editors of The Greenleaves Review decided on winners in “The Tree of Mystery,” and JK and SK students, as the intended audience for “The Four Pumpkins” category, decided on the winners of their stories.
The Greenleaves Review Co-Editor Mimi Brown ’21 shared in a video response to the class, “This decision was incredibly difficult because all of the stories had so many strong points.” Her co-editor Ananya Radhakrishnan ’21 agreed: “Honestly, all of your stories were really great. I was chilled by the creepy dolls. You guys are so creative—I hope you keep writing all the way to the Upper School where you can write for, or even edit other people’s stories in, The Greenleaves Review!”
Community Services Committee Head Bonnie Sneider ’21 also shared, “We can tell that some of you are destined to be authors in the Upper School!” Congratulations to the winners:
The Black Crow: Stories That Involve Animals
- Runner-up: The Mysterious Creature by Natasha Schultz ’29
- Runner-up: The Black Crow’s Whistle by Caroline Brauer ’29
- Winner: The Spark That Saves Lives by Sam Taylor ’29
The Four Pumpkins: Stories That Appeal to JK, SK, and 1st Grade Readers
- Runner-up: The Shadows by Matthew Zheng ’29
- Runner-up: Disaster at the Pumpkin Patch by Isabelle George ’29
- Winner: Halloween Night by Sam Patel ’29
Tree of Mystery: Ancient Stories That Take Place in Mysterious Locations
- Runner-up: Happy Halloween by Shayaan Merchant ’29
- Runner-up: The Promise by Sam Gabrielson ’29
- Winner: On Top of the Ash by Crystal Su ’29
The Underworld: Stories Involving the Afterlife
- Runner-up: Sarah’s Halloween Night Adventure by Valeria Landrum ’29
- Runner-up: Zombie Town by Skyler Dastgah-Bradford
- Winner: The Adventures of Josh the Wolf by Evan Gao
Congratulations to all our wonderful wordsmiths, and thanks to our literary judges!