The 2022-23 Power of the Pen competition began the year with a record 2500 writers. After district and regional competitions around the state of Ohio, the top 20% of writers were invited to compete at the state tournament on May 19th. Ontario'sTatum Mottayaw and Leeah Ziegler survived a very competitive field to land in the top 500 writers in the state and earned a trip to state. The state tournament, held at Ashland University, involved a writer's workshop, great food, a Thursday night dance, an exploration of the campus, Justin A. Reynolds as a keynote speaker, and a Friday full of writing. Each writer composed three original stories from a prompt in three 35-minute rounds. After three rounds, Leeah ended as a finalist in the 7th-grade competition and wrote a final story in the fourth round. During the awards ceremony, Leeah learned she placed 8th in the state. This is a huge accomplishment, as Leeah competed against 250 other 7th-grade writers to earn that honor. Ontario Middle School is so proud of Tatum and Leeah for their accomplishments.
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