Isabella Vargas, an eighth grader at Merrick Avenue Middle School, has been selected as a runner-up in this year's Scholastic Action True Teen Story contest.

The October 2023 contest called for students to share a short essay about a struggle they’ve faced, a passion they have or something that makes them special. 

A student in Brett Schwartz’s reading lab, Vargas said the teacher was integral in submitting her piece about her “mental health journey.”

“He encouraged me to write about it and helped me edit the story,” she mentioned.

Kim Serpe, an English chairperson, said “it’s amazing that Vargas has taken a situation, which is probably very challenging to her and put it in writing for her own catharsis as well as to help other teenagers.”

She added that Schwartz often “provides students with writing opportunities that enable self-reflection to create a non-fiction piece about themselves.” 

Vargas will receive a cash prize.

Editors from Scholastic’s Action magazine visited Brett Schwartz’s reading lab class at Merrick Avenue Middle School on March 15.

The trio participated in a reading of the play, “The Legend of Robin Hood” from the magazine. Written by Spencer Kayden, a playwright and actress by training who also writes for the magazine occasionally, the play offered students a unique look at a timeless tale.

“She writes a lot of these spirited legends and myths and she’s wonderful at it,” explained Kim Tranell, editorial director.

Schwartz is currently working on reading and understanding plays for sequence, fluency and expression, as well as discussing reasoning and more with his class.

During an open discussion with the Scholastic staffers, students were able to voice what they’d like to see in the magazine. Topics included the debate about the potential banning of TikTok and the youth invasion of Sephora. Published only eight times a year, the editorial team is currently working on the September 2025 issue.

“So, we need to think about what is going to be happening when this issue hits the stands,” Tranell explained.

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Date Added: 3/21/2024