THE WORD NERD HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST ***                ****                 ****         *** FALL 2008 NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS! We are proud to announce the winners of the Fall 2008 contest: GRAND PRIZE WINNER Taylor Welch, “Confessions of a Serial Prom Dress Destroyer” Peachtree Ridge High School, Suwanee, GA     Sponsored by Joanna Feldman SECOND PLACE WINNER Monsura Sirajee, “Confessions of a Failed Bilinguist” Chaparral High School, Temecula, CA     Sponsored by Larry Wells THIRD PLACE WINNER Marie Sbrocca, “Confessions of an Inherently Indecisive Fashion Addict”, University Preparatory School, Redding, CA     Sponsored by Sally vonDachenhausen BEST CLASS PRIZE Sally vonDachenhausen’s English Class University Preparatory School, Redding, CA FINALISTS Audrey Snow, “Confessions of an Uninspired Journalist” Huron High School, Ann Arbor, MI   Sponsored by Brian Lincourt Ashley Scott, “Confessions of a Treacherous Ex Best Friend” University Preparatory School, Redding, CA     Sponsored by Sally vonDachenhausen Erin Mayer, “Confessions of a Latte Lover” Floral Park Memorial High School, Floral Park, NY     Sponsored by Barbara Paulinski Kirk Jimenez, “Confessions of a Misunderstood Musician” Caney Creek High School, Conroe, TX     Sponsored by Tiffany McKenna Sierra Horton, “Confessions of a Woman Wrestler” Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, MO     Sponsored by Donna Canan Julia Carpenter, “Confessions of an Intrepid Trailblazer” Savannah Christian Preparatory School, Savannah, GA     Sponsored by Mrs. Kelly Margaret Whittier-Ferguson, “Confessions of an Ambassador’s Daughter” Huron High School, Ann Arbor, MI     Sponsored by Brian Lincourt Kendal Poole, “Confessions of a Hyperbolic Queen” Alta High School, Sandy, UT     Sponsored by Arna Clark Lauren Paynter, “Confessions of an Imaginary Friend” Boyle County High School, Danville, KY     Sponsored by Katie Tiller Amy Bleasdale, “Confessions of a Sluggard Student” Montville High School, Oakdale, CT     Sponsored by Mrs. Halsey We laughed our wordy heads off at your hilarious essays, and were inspired by your creativity.  Congratulations! ****                          ******                          *******                        FALL 2008 CONTEST DETAILS The Word Nerds and Penguin Books invite young writers to share their most hilarious stories in the style of Confessions of a High School Word Nerd. And WIN $500 and a set of Penguin modern classics--you know, the books you really want to read! Winning essays will be chosen on the basis of their humor and successful incorporation of SAT words. ELIGIBILITY: All U.S. students currently enrolled in high school. Home-schooled students (like Word Nerd Timothy Cooper in Chapter 10!) are also welcome, as are students who participated in the spring contest. ESSAY REQUIREMENTS: Essays should tell an amusing true story about high school, while weaving in SAT words. Essays must be between 1500 and 3,000 words, and should incorporate a minimum of 60 SAT words from the vocabulary list of 1500 SAT words in the back of Confessions of a High School Word Nerd. Please mimic the format of the essays in Confessions: bold all SAT words, and footnote their definitions at the bottom of the page. The essay titles should follow the format “Confessions of a ______.” DEADLINE: November 15, 2008 SUBMISSIONS: Submit your completed essay as a Microsoft Word Document attachment to  WordNerdHeadquarters[at]gmail.com. In the subject line, write the name of your essay (“Confessions of a _____”). In the body of the email, please include: Your name The name of your high school Your address, phone number and email address The name of your sponsoring English or Literature teacher WINNERS: Winners will be announced by December 15th. AWARD: Scholarship and free books! The First Place winner will receive a $500 scholarship, for educational use of their choice. Teachers will receive a Penguin classroom reference library. First, Second, and Third Prize winners will receive a prize pack of modern classics books from Penguin, and lifetime Word Nerd status. Our Privacy Policy: The names, email addresses and school names collected with applications are used solely for the purposes of confirming application receipt, and informing winners of their status. We do not sell, share, rent or otherwise transfer the information, nor formally collect or use student information for any purpose beyond essay contest communications. *********                                                *********** Spring 2008 Contest Winners! We are thrilled to announce the winners of the April 2008 contest! GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Megan Gross, "Confessions of an Unsuccessful Houdini,"  Memorial High School, sponsored by Ms. Deanna Nelson SECOND PLACE WINNER: Samantha Ritter, "Confessions of a Physics Failure," Westfield High School, sponsored by Ms. Burgoyne THIRD PLACE WINNER: Mary Nguyen, "Confessions of a Boxing Beauty," Stafford High School, sponsored by Mr. Andrews FINALISTS: Shelby Brunner, "Confessions of an Almost Prom Queen" Robert Ochoa, "Confessions of a Reluctant Actor" Emily Graczyk, "Confessions of a Naive Fashionista" Miranda Marraccini, "Confessions of a Klutz" Emily Eagen, "Confessions of an Acting Humilitation" Brian Hsu, "Confessions of a Crazy Bird Lady" Judy Wu, "Confessions of a Disgraced Connoisseur" Sara Robinson, "Confessions of a Temporarily Invisible Girl" BEST CLASS: Jan Meyers' English Class, Spencer High School