Arizona PBS, Primavera Online School® announce winners of 2024 Writing Contest

18 winning writers recognized out of more than 100 submissions

Arizona PBS and Primavera Online School® have announced winners of the station’s 2024 Writing Contest. Administered by the AZPBS kids LEARN! team with support from Primavera Online School®, this year’s contest asked kindergarten through 5th grade students to imagine and write about taking the ultimate field trip with their favorite teacher.

Throughout the spring, the station received more than 100 contest submissions; and, in recent weeks, a panel of judges selected first, second and third-place winners for each grade level. On Saturday, June 15, the winners were celebrated with a special event at the station during which first-place finishers were awarded Amazon Fire Tablets, second-place finishers received virtual reality headsets and third-place finishers were given 3D drawing pens.

In addition, event attendees got to hear from children’s book author and Arizona PBS Art Director Tia Perkin, who read her award-winning book “Hall-O-Ween!” Please see below for a complete list of winners:

Kindergarten

• First Place: Manvi Srinivasan
• Second Place: Ryan Park
• Third Place: Alexandra Weinstein

First Grade

• First Place: Clare Nicklaw
• Second Place: Vishak Mayilvahanan
• Third Place: Avery Byrd

Second Grade

• First Place: Aarav Rane
• Second Place: Oleena Deniyawatta
• Third Place: Seamus McNeil

Third Grade

• First Place: Olivia Weinstein
• Second Place: Lilah Miller
• Third Place: Neel Budruk

Fourth Grade

• First Place: Noell Lim
• Second Place: Amy Xuan
• Third Place: Mackynzie Forrest

Fifth Grade

• First Place: Ruhi Rane
• Second Place: Tabitha Creviston
• Third Place: Umaiza Amer

This annual writing contest is part of Arizona PBS’ larger AZPBS kids LEARN! initiative, which encompasses the station’s robust educational outreach activities.

“Part of our mission is to promote literacy, creativity and writing skills in children, as well as create excitement about education across the state of Arizona. This annual writing contest checks all of those boxes,” said Kimberly Flack, Senior Director of Education and Community Impact for Arizona PBS. “We’re thankful for Primavera Online School®’s partnership and ongoing support of our educational outreach efforts.”

Primavera Online School® is a tuition-free, public charter school providing Arizona students in grades K-12 with a rigorous, award-winning curriculum and personalized attention from highly qualified instructors. Primavera Online School® is Cognia accredited.

“We are excited to partner with Arizona PBS and sponsor this year’s writing contest that encourages students to express their creativity,” said Jessica Pagoulatos, Executive Director at Primavera Online School®. “It’s inspiring to see the imagination and talent of young writers, and we’re thrilled to be a part of their journey as they explore the limitless possibilities.”

View the winning entries for the 2024 Writing Contest, and for more on the station’s AZPBS kids LEARN! activities, visit azpbs.org/education.