MANSFIELD — Union is strength.
That’s the moral sixth grader Cohen Krupa hopes to convey to readers of his fable called “The Snail and the Hedgehog.”
The main characters, as you’d likely assume, are a snail and a hedgehog that quarrel, but ultimately “they’ll make up and be friends,” explained Krupa.
He is one of 19 students at St. Peter’s Elementary School participating in a six-week creative writing program. St. Peter’s offers over 10 enrichment programs, which range from technology, to nature, crafts, and more.
Students involved in the creative writing program are working on submissions for the Renaissance Theatre’s MindSprouts Creative Writing contest, which is open to any area student in kindergarten through 12th grade in public, private and home schools.
St. Peter’s has participated in this contest since its inception six years ago. Students are to submit one composition in one or more of the following categories: short story, play or poem. This year’s theme is “Fantastic Fables!”
Top submissions from each grade band in the MindSprouts contest are sent to a celebrity panel for judging, then adapted for the stage and showcased at the Renaissance in May. Past judges for the contest have included SNL writers Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Jeff Richmond and the Ren’s own artistic director, Michael Thomas.
Sarah Rizzo, fifth and sixth grade teacher at St. Peter’s, said students are invited to watch the performances. Some are nervous, while others can hardly contain their excitement. Either way, it’s a neat opportunity for the students see their ideas come to life.
“To have it come off the page is pretty cool,” she said.
About half of the students in the creative writing program, which includes students in first through sixth grade, have participated in the MindSprouts contest before. They meet once a week for about an hour.
Rizzo laid down some ground rules before beginning one of the sessions, reminding students to listen and respect each other’s writing.
“Writing is very personal. It comes from here,” she said while pointing to her heart.
She went over what a fable is (a short story, typically with animals as characters, teaching a moral) and encouraged students to consider what format they’d like to write their fable, whether that be a short story, play or poem.
Sixth grader Josephine Reef chose to write a poem with the moral being “Don’t trespass.” Characters include a dog, cat and two chipmunks, she said.
Students were given time to write during the class — many begged for more time when the alarm sounded.
They each shared with the class the moral of their story. One said, “Don’t be mean,” while another said “A man is known by his company.”
The moral of second grader Ella Sweval’s short story is “Don’t brag.” She’s writing about a beautiful peacock that’s chosen to be the town’s fashion designer, “And she’s happy because she gets to use sparkles and sequins,” she said.
Students have until March 30 to get their pieces submitted. The showcase will be held Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Renaissance Theatre. It’s free to attend.
For more information on the MindSprouts program/submission guidelines visit www.mansfieldtickets.com/mindsprouts.
