(Piscataway, NJ—March 12, 2017) Out of almost 2,000 letters submitted from New Jersey in the 2016-2017 Letters About Literature contest, High Tech High School received notice that four of its students had been recognized at the 2017 Letters About LiteratureAward Ceremony at Rutgers University’s Livingston College Student Center, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
In the Level III category covering 9-12 graders, Hoboken resident Rebecca Klein-Cohen earned Second Place for her letter to Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the widely-popular musical Hamilton: An American Musical.
Also in that category, the following High Tech students earned Distinguished Honors: Gabriel Goya of Bayonne, who wrote a letter addressed to David Lubar, author of Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, and North Bergen residents Julissa Laignelet and Isabella Rodriguez, who wrote to Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why, and Lauren Oliver, the author of Before I Fall, respectively.
These High Tech students will be honored, along with others, at a statewide reception at the Livingston College Student Center of Rutgers University on May 17th.
Judges for Letters About Literature include authors, publishers, librarians and educators. The first two rounds of reading occurs at the Library of Congress, which determines which letters advance to state-level judging. First place state winners only advance for national judging.
Letters About Literature, a reading/writing contest for students in grades 4-12, recognizes students who read a book, poem, or speech and compose letters to the authors, whether living or dead, on how the authors’ works affect them personally. Judges review letters on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literatureevery year.
