Sauk Prairie 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders attend Young Authors Conference

On May 20, the Central Wisconsin TAG Coordinators Consortium hosted the Young Authors Conference on the campus of UW-Platteville Sauk County. Over 200 third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade writers, from 15 school districts, including Sauk Prairie students from Grand Avenue, Tower Rock, and Merrimac Community School attended.  Attendees were selected on the local level, based on entries they submitted in one of four categories--poetry, personal narrative, persuasive writing, and creative writing.   Each student received a copy of an anthology, which contained all of the winning entries.  In addition, the anthologies featured cover designs that had been submitted in 2019 by two Sauk Prairie students. At the workshop, students were treated to a keynote address by Terry Visger, an educator and storyteller from LaCrosse.  Visger not only entertained with the stories she shared, but also imparted wisdom to the students in attendance and led a breakout session. The keynote presentation was followed by small group breakout sessions, led by volunteers from the participating school districts.  During the small group sessions, students worked on advancing their writing skills.  Facilitators from Sauk Prairie, who helped lead small group sessions, were Julie Breunig, Gifted and Talented Department Resource Specialist, and Kathy Bruno, Gifted and Talented Department Support Teacher.  Breunig and Bruno led a fifth and sixth grade poetry group composed of students from all of the participating school districts.