The Write Stuff: HFCA Students Win Local, District, and State Contest

While Holy Family Catholic Academy is widely known throughout the area as the first Cognia STEM Certified middle school in the State of Illinois, it is also well regarded for developing students with strong reading and writing skills.

The Inverness school is celebrating two 8th grade students who were honored for essays submitted to the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest. Grace Garcia and Isabella Kozaczka's essays were two of the three chosen by VFW Post 5151 to move to the VFW’s 4th District level. Grace received 1st place at the district level advancing her essay to the state competition and last week was named the state winner finishing first among 5,000 other Illinois students who submitted essays. Although Grace was admittedly surprised by the announcement, the VFW judges recognized her talent.

States Mr. Joe Wein, VFW’s 4th District Program Chair, “Both Isabella and Grace wrote compelling speeches that engaged the readers. Grace won the state competition because the judges saw her writing style was more aligned with high school submissions; Grace’s writing is clearly advanced for her age.”

Proficiency in STEM and achievement in language arts go hand in hand. Explains Middle School Science/STEM teacher and former chemical engineer, Mrs. Cindi Frayman, “My personal success as a STEM professional was linked to the development of my reading and writing skills. Not only did my reading skills inspire my curiosity about science and engineering, but writing skills are a critical part of STEM careers.” Successful STEM professionals must be skilled at conveying their thoughts, evidence, and recommendations to a diverse group of constituents.

The interdependency of these two seemingly diverse disciplines illustrates the success of HFCA’s transdisciplinary approach to learning. This type of learning encourages looking at an issue through various lenses strengthening the development of critical thinking skills. Mrs. Anne Pacion, Middle School English and Language Arts teacher shares that “weaving together the study of language arts, social studies, science, and faith allows students to better understand the world around them and advances their learning in a significant and holistic way.”

HFCA’s goal is to prepare students for high school and beyond. Regardless of students’ chosen paths, strong writing skills are critical to their success in facilitating coworker collaborations, business transactions, and interpersonal interactions.

Concludes Principal Kate O’Brien, “The HFCA community of students and teachers have a lot to celebrate. We congratulate Isabella and will be cheering for Grace as she moves to the National VFW competition which will be announced in April. These students’ recent successes are also a celebration of HFCA’s transdisciplinary approach to learning.”

HFCA students are equipped with the “write stuff” to position them for success in their future academic and professional lives regardless of the career they choose.