Teen wins national writing award

Judge Memorial freshman Annie Loader recently won the Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Award, a prestigious national honor. The Sugar House teen met past and present award recipients when she went to New York City, along with her family to receive her gold medal.

Loader was recognized for her essay, "Gallant in the Ghetto, A Rebellion of the Innocent," a 23-page essay about the Warsaw ghetto uprising during the Holocaust. She was honored at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall along with other award-winners. Actress Kathy Bates was a featured speaker.

Chris Sloan, Loader's Judge Memorial writing teacher, entered Loader's essay into the contest in the fall of her ninth-grade year. The following March, she was notified that she was among the winners. Judges included artists, writers, curators, educators and creative-industry specialists.

Sam Weller's art contest

Relive your high school years

A local bookstore wants you to relive your angst-ridden, high school years through your past art. Sam Weller's Bookstore is collecting your best (or is it worst?) past high school art projects for a September show.

"This is a retrospective of all our most intense works, sophomoric prismacolor attempts, social commentary paintings and collages,self-portraits and celebrity renderings, first-time welding projects, angst-driven expressions . . ."

Images can be e-mailed to Stephanie@samwellers.com or shari.samwellers.com or bring them to the store at 254 South Main St. Entries are due Aug. 9 for the Sept. 12 show.