LANSDALE – The North Penn School District is proud to announce that five of its high school students were recognized for their excellence in writing.

North Penn High School seniors Mikhail Khodak, Ishaan Nerurkar, MaryBeth O’Mara and Suyog Padgaonkar were recognized in the Penn State University (PSU) writing competition. PSU holds this annual contest to encourage high school students to write and recognize some of the best student writers in the state of Pennsylvania.  Students are asked to write an impromptu essay in no more than one hour after reading a specified article under a teacher’s supervision. These essays are then judged by experienced teachers of composition from PSU who look for evidence that students demonstrate a broad range of analytical and writing skills.

In addition, two North Penn High School seniors, Mikhail Khodak and Aarathi Menon, were recognized as outstanding writers in the National Council of the Teachers of English (NCTE) Achievement Awards in Writing competition. These students submitted a creative writing sample and were then asked to write an impromptu timed essay as well. The Achievement Awards in Writing program was established in 1957 to encourage high school students in their writing and to recognize publicly some of the best student writers in the nation.  A team of English teachers judge the writing, looking especially for writing that demonstrates effective and imaginative use of language to inform and move an audience.

North Penn High School English teachers Janet Kratz and Ellen McKee coordinated the two writing contests for these students during the 2010-2011 school year when the students were enrolled in the Advanced Placement (AP) Language and Composition course. For more details on the North Penn High School student honorees, please contact Janet Kratz at [email protected] or Ellen McKee at [email protected].