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Schools

Whiz Kid: Law Day Contest Yields 24 Winning Essays

Dearborn students submitted works discussing "The Legacy of John Adams, From Boston to Guantanamo."

Nearly 500 students from Dearborn’s public and private middle schools submitted essays for the annual Law Day essay contest, and 24 were honored for their award-winning submissions.

Names:

  • Fifth grade—first place, Leah Schlesinger, ; second place, Xaire Harajli, ; third place, Salwa Eljahmi, . Honorable mentions:  Cameron Godin, ; Nadine Bazzi, ; and Olivia Schreiber, Sacred Heart.
  • Sixth grade—first place, Julianne Grenn, ; second place, Jumanah Barqawi, ; third place, Johnpaul Vega, . Honorable mentions Ebtehal Qassem, ; Nicholas Lenaghan, Divine Child; and Anna Crandall, Divine Child.
  • Seventh grade—first place, Emily Natkowski, O. L. Smith; second place, Caeli Lacroix, O. L. Smith; third place, Fatima Najdi, . Honorable mentions:  Hussein Mackie, McCollough; Kali Church, O. L. Smith; and Brianna Helka, O. L. Smith.
  • Eighth grade—first place, Rachel Szalay, Divine Child; second place, Andrea Sims, ; third place, Mikala O’Rourke, O. L. Smith. Honorable mentions: Grace Sekulidis, Bryant Middle School; Eugen Ilisei, O. L. Smith; and Raehanna Ahmed, Salina Intermediate.

Accomplishment: All participating middle school students wrote about this year’s Law Day theme: “The Legacy of John Adams, From Boston to Guantanamo."

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The winners were honored in a May 10 ceremony with Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert P. Young Jr., Dearborn Chief Judge Mark Somers, Judge William Hultgren and Judge Richard Wygonik as well as Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly.

The Dearborn Rotary Club presented each first place winner with a certificate and a $200 savings bond. Each second place winner received a certificate and a $100 savings bond. Each third place winner received a certificate and a $50 savings bond. Recipients of honorable mentions each received a certificate and a $25 gift certificate from Barnes & Noble.

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Key to Awesomeness: The winners of the Law Day essay contest were chosen for their exemplary understanding of the rule of law, shown by their exploration of the historical and contemporary role of lawyers in defending the rights of the accused.

Students were provided with an opportunity to enhance their understanding of the fundamental principle of the rule of law and how it applies to current issues.

Do you know a special young person in the community who deserves a round of applause because he volunteers instead of playing video games after school? Did your son's soccer team win their first game? Or maybe your daughter's science club is trying to challenge the way we think about the energy crisis. Everyone deserves a little attention, and we want to tell these stories.

Email your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Jessica Carreras at Jessica.carreras@patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every Wednesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight; you never know who will be up next.

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