HARTFORD — The local Alpha Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional international organization of key women educators, honored winners of their 2023 Mary Jo Nettesheim Literary Contest on May 15 during a ceremony at Peace Lutheran Church.
According to a release from DGK, they received 102 books from Washington County students to judge for their literary contest this year.
“The Mary Jo Nettesheim Literary Contest is a fiction book writing contest open to Wisconsin students in grades three through twelve,” said the release. “Delta Kappa Gamma chapters submitted their first place books for judging at the state level.”
Winners of the contest include:
Third Grade
First Place — “Fishing Adventures” by Colton Sterman (Peace Lutheran School) Second Place — “Sophia’s Bake Sale” by Sophia Reisweber (Holy Angels School) Honorable Mention — “Born to Plat” by Levi Duntie (Peace Lutheran School)
Fourth Grade
First Place — “The Cake Contest” by Arya Sternig (Holy Angels School) Second Place — “The Injured Turtle” by Natalie Ehlers (Peace Lutheran School) Illustrator Award — “The Train That Really Couldn’t” by Eloise Agenten (Peace Lutheran School) Honorable Mentions — “My Naughty Hedgehog” by Averie Spaeth (Holy Angels School); “Peter the Mischievous Kitten” by Bode Karl (St. John’s Lutheran School); “One Million Stars” by Kennedy Mayer (Holy Angels School); and “Who Gets the Bear Spray?” by Camille Miofsky (Holy Angels School)
Fifth Grade
First Place — “Lost in the Woods” by James Wegner (Silverbrook Intermediate School) Second Place — “Always in the Middle” by Josie Kletzine (Silverbrook Intermediate School) Illustrator Award — “Lost in the Woods” by James Wegner
Sixth Grade
First Place (tie) — “Chips” by Nora Martin (Silverbrook Intermediate School) and “Love Written in the Stars” by Savannah Lindahl (Silverbrook Intermediate School) Second Place — “The Color Case” by Maya Sabh (Silverbrook Intermediate School) Illustrator Award — “Love Written in the Stars” by Savannah Lindahl and “Trapped in the Forest” by Emelyn Bublitz (St. John’s Lutheran School) Honorable Mention — “Trapped in the Forest” by Emelyn Bublitz; “The Hidden Ice Rink” by Addie Lehrmann (Silverbrook Intermediate School); “Zero-Gravity” by Hadley Buettner (St. John’s Lutheran School); “Nothing but Backpacks” by Keagan Kinnerk (Silverbrook Intermediate School); and “The Accident” by Joseph Joers (Silverbrook Intermediate School)
Seventh Grade
First Place — “In the Forest” by Karayln Hesse (Holy Angels School) Second Place — “The Fight with Two Sides” by Amelia Mortenson (St. John’s Lutheran School) Illustrator Award — “In the Forest” by Karalyn Hesse Honorable Mention — “Lonely Lillian” by Ella Reichle (Slinger Middle School)
Eighth Grade
First Place — “Best Christmas Ever” by Kaitlyn Wendelborn (Holy Angels School).
Bilingual Entries
First Place — “Tigger the Cat” by Celia Milam (St. John’s Lutheran School) Second Place — “The Story of Mr. Penguin and Mrs. Giraffe and Their Fantastic Adventure on the Way to the Park” by Ana Samayoa (St. John’’s Lutheran School) Honorable Mention — “The Day in the Life of Duncan Donuts the Dog” by Norah DeVries (St. John’s Lutheran School) DKG also announced that seventh-grader Karalyn Hesse won the state competition with her story “In the Forest”.