2017 Youth Ink: 60 Seconds

Eligibity: 

The contest is open to middle school students (6th, 7th and 8th grade), who live in Orinda or attend an Orinda school.

Submission Criteria:

Entries may be a story (fiction or non-fiction), poem, or other form of creative writing, written specically for the contest and without teacher or parent involvement. All entries must be written in English. Submissions will be evaluated on the following items: content, clarity, structure, and originality.

Contest Prompt: 

The writing prompt for 2017 is 60 Seconds; however, you may write about anything you like—real or imaginary—adhere to the prompt or not! There is no limit to your imagination.

Entry:

Contest opens December 5, 2016. One entry per student. Download an entry form here. There is no fee to participate. All submissions must be 750 words or less, typed, and double-spaced. Contestant names should appear on the top right-hand corner of each page and the completed entry form must be stapled to your submission. Winning submissions may be posted for the public and re-printed in local papers. Entries must be delivered and postmarked (Orinda Junior Women’s Club, Post Office Box 40, Orinda, CA 94563) or emailed to info@orindajuniors.org by February 15, 2017.

Judging:

The entries will be judged by a panel of local, professional, and best-selling authors, writers, reporters, and children’s book editors. The judges will evaluate submissions and select the winners. The judges will remain confidentdential until the winners are announced.

Prizes: First Place $250, Second Place $125, and Third Place $75, and ten honorable mentions gift certicates. Winners will be notied by mail and receive their prizes at an Awards Ceremony on April 20, 2067 from 6:00−7:00pm. The ceremony is open to the public and all family and friends are invited to attend.

Our November meeting was held at Amphora Olive Oil in Lafayette.  We had a fantastic turnout learned more about what makes a great olive oil! We sampled a variety of great salad dressing combos, spicy olives, and decadent blood orange brownies!  We also put the finishing touches on our Youth Ink writing contest!

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Our October new member meeting was a huge success, with many new faces joining us to learn more about the Orinda Juniors and working to decorate pumpkins for the seniors living at the Orinda Senior Village. If you didn’t get a chance to meet them last month, be sure to introduce yourself at our November meeting!

Candi Brooks-William
Chrei Arellano
Jennifer Balducci
Melissa Willingham
Nazia Sheriff
Orsi Teodorovic
Rene Erdem
Sharon Girdlestone
Shihyi Hong

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Over 20 little goblins came in costume to help deliver pumpkin to the Orinda Senior Village.

 

The Orinda Juniors kicked off our 2016-2017 year in September, with our first meeting with our new board:

President

 Amy Stuffmann

Vice President / Dean

 Katie Walsh

Membership

Leslie Volk

Communications

 Michelle Bea

Treasurer

 Maura Aars

Secretary

 Lisa Siddall

Community Liaison

 Cindy Powell

Social

 Corrie Raphael

Hospitality 

 Leigh Colburn

Helping Hands

 Ignacia Guzman

Youth Ink

 Chantal Valentine

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The Orinda Junior Women’s Club were proud to participate in Orinda’s annual Fourth of July parade and festivities!

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On April 21, the Orinda Junior Women’s Club presented the winners of our annual Youth Ink Writing Contest. This year, 46 Orinda middle school students submitted entries inspired by the writing prompt Future.  We are proud to announce the winners of contest for 2016:

2016 WINNERS

1st Place: Julia Sato Bridge: (Noun) [brij]
2nd Place: Cecily Bartsch – My Future
3rd Place: Deborah Jung – One Half of Us

Honorable Mention:
(alphabetical order)

Nisha Andrews – Once Upon A Time
Alison Gan – A Turing Test
Tess Hornbeck – When Morning Comes
Sophia Kofoed – Flying to the Stars and Back
Amrita Pannu – A New Role Model
Ilana Rubin – Life
Natalie Sovocool – Et Respice Finem
Lauren Staelin – For Alanna
Tenley Thompson – A Life of Expression
Eva Winter – Narnia

Our evening concluded with a talk with our special guest speaker, Maura Wolf.

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Once again the Orinda Juniors continued the tradition of putting together Easter baskets for the The Family House for Oakland Children’s Hospital. This low-cost “home away from home” has 16 bedrooms available to qualifying families who live 70 miles or more from the hospital. All residents share a common living room, play room, kitchen, and laundry room.

At our March meeting we put together over 20 baskets for the children staying at the house and will deliver them the week before Easter.

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This February, one of our own, Cindy Powell, celebrated her 25th anniversary with the Orinda Juniors.  In honor of this wonderful milestone, a house-full of current and former Orinda Juniors gathered for an evening of delicious wine, tasty treats, and reminiscing with friends old and new.

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We had our best turn out ever for our January social event at the new Fourth Bore Tap Room and Grill in Orinda. Everyone had a wonderful time getting together to eat, drink and socialize!

IMG_4931The Orinda Juniors were busy baking again this December, this time to provide treats for Children’s Hospital’s annual party for the Infectious Disease clinic.  Together we baked over 12 dozen treats to brighten the days of some wonderful families.