In the News - Laurie Carmichael

Across Foothills County, Grade 6 students are diving into their imaginations to write a story for the 6th Grade Writing Contest hosted by the Foothills Writers Group. Laurie Carmichael is past president of the Foothills Writers Group. She founded the group in 2022 and said they’ve hosted the Grade 6 contest for the past two years. “It is an opportunity for our students to practice their writing, and we’re really trying to promote literacy amongst our youth in the community,” said Carmichael. Volunteers from the Foothills Writers Group have been out to various public and separate schools in the areas. They’ve travelled between Cayley, High River, Diamond Valley, and Okotoks to promote the contest. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot(‘/50748803/oko-all-bigbox’, [300, 250], ‘div-gpt-1642787068267-bbm1’); s.setTargeting(‘URL’, [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting(‘position’, [1642787068267]) s.setTargeting(‘story_id’, ‘grade-6-writing-contest-returns-for-the-foothills’); s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } }); “Some of the stories that we’ve had in the past two years have absolutely blown us out of the water,” said Carmichael. Related Stories: Creativity unlocks with the Foothills Writers Group Local author brings Sheep River magic to life in new children’s book Foothills Writers Group is hosting a contest for Foothills County students Although the group has tried to get into Grade 6 classrooms across the Foothills, they haven’t been able to get out to all schools due to scheduling conflicts. Carmichael said students across Foothill County that they haven’t met can still submit a story. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot(‘/50748803/oko-all-bigbox’, [300, 250], ‘div-gpt-1642787068267-bbm2’); s.setTargeting(‘URL’, [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting(‘position’, [1642787068267]) s.setTargeting(‘story_id’, ‘grade-6-writing-contest-returns-for-the-foothills’); s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } }); Interested students can email foothillswritersgroup@gmail.com, ATTN. Grade 6 Writing Contest. She will then forward the contest details. The submitted original piece of writing must be between 300 and 1,000 words. The contest deadline is March 27, with the panel of judges beginning judging March 28. Carmichael explained that there is an overall winner and a runner-up for the contest. Then each school has a first, second, and third place winner established. “Not only is there recognition in the social media for your writing, but you’ll also win a spectacular award too,” said Carmichael. The submissions are evaluated by a panel of volunteer judges from the Writers Group, plus three guest judges. Rae Lynn from Yooneek Books in Okotoks, Erin from Spisher Books in Diamond Valley, and last year’s overall winner Devin Phillips. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot(‘/50748803/oko-all-bigbox’, [300, 250], ‘div-gpt-1642787068267-bbm3’); s.setTargeting(‘URL’, [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting(‘position’, [1642787068267]) s.setTargeting(‘story_id’, ‘grade-6-writing-contest-returns-for-the-foothills’); s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } }); Phillips won last year’s contest with her original story, Mimi’s Worrisome Adventure in Greece. The runner-up was Kira Cruikshank with her story, Fire. The two were also recognized by the Town of Okotoks with the Awesome Kids Award.