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Local student wins PBS SoCal’s KIDS Writers Contest!

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Aaliyah’s winning entry, titled “The Hatching Egg,” tells the story of a bird family that is preparing to have a baby bird. (contributed)
Aaliyah’s winning entry, titled “The Hatching Egg,” tells the story of a bird family that is preparing to have a baby bird. Read the story here. (contributed)

LANCASTER – Aaliyah Brianna Lavender, a third-grader at Life Source International Charter School in Lancaster, is a regional winner of the 2015 PBS KIDS Writers Contest, according to an announcement by PBS for Greater Los Angeles.

As one of PBS SoCaL’s first place winners, Aaliyah will be moving on to the National PBS KIDS Writers Contest to compete with kids across the nation.

The annual PBS KIDS Writers Contest encourages children in grades K-5 to celebrate creativity and build literacy skills by writing and illustrating their own stories.

[Click image to read "The Hatching Egg.]
[Click image to read “The Hatching Egg.”]
Aaliyah’s winning entry, titled “The Hatching Egg,” tells the story of a bird family that is preparing to have a baby bird. View Aaliyah’s short story here.

The third-grader credits God and her mother, Terrie Lavender, for giving her the idea to write the story. Aaliyah aspires to be a pediatrician and author.

For writing and illustrating the winning entry, Aaliyah was invited to a special ceremony at the PBS SoCal studio on Wednesday and awarded a certificate and prizes.

All PBS SoCal’s first place winners will be entered into the national contest where a panel of esteemed judges will rank the top 12 entries.

This year’s first place winners are:

  • 1st Place – Kindergarten: “Fuzzy and Acorn” by Nadya Jisun Kim of Buena Park
  • 1st Place – First Grade: “Friends on the Moon” by Jishnu Mukherjee of Woodland Hills
  • 1st Place – Second Grade: “Up On Stage and Not Afraid” by Srishti Pradhan of Tustin
  • 1st Place – Third Grade: “The Hatching Egg” by Aaliyah Lavender of Lancaster
  • 1st Place – Fourth Grade: “Tooth Fairy” by Jude Alexis of Irvine
  • 1st Place – Fifth Grade: “Caramel” by Nicole Nguyen of Westminster

PBS SoCal is the parent to three broadcast channels, PBS SoCaL/KOCE-HD, PBS SoCaL Plus, and PBS SoCaL World, which are dedicated to educating, entertaining and enlightening viewers throughout Southern California.

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Filed Under: Education, Lancaster

5 comments for "Local student wins PBS SoCal’s KIDS Writers Contest!"

  1. FYI – We apologize but there is a page missing here. The very last page of the story, which was one of the best because Aaliyah made it as a sort of pop-up. It had the egg cracking open with the baby bird bursting out of it. It was really cute. So sorry that you all couldn’t see it.

  2. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments of encouragement and pure LOVE. We felt them all. It’s nice when you feel that there is a community standing behind you. We give God all the honor and glory for making this experience possible. We understand and know that “With God all things are possible.” This is such an honor and humbling experience. Aaliyah has been on cloud 9, but she is so encouraged. She is already thinking about her story for next year. She loves writing and aspires to one day become a world renowned author. She admires the writing of Maya Angelou, Mark Brown, Judy Bloom, Dan Gutman, and those are just to name a few. I will continue to encourage her to write. I was honored to have her represent the Antelope Valley, as well as other children of color. We want the little ones to know that they can do it too. God is Awesome!

  3. Way to go Aaliyah!!! Yet another story about good things happening in the AV, and good people in the AV. I may be in the minority right now, but people like Aaliyah make me proud to call the AV home. :)

  4. What a breath of fresh air! Finally something positive! Great job young lady, never give up your dreams or passion! God is amazing!