Windsor students create their own stories

It wasn't open mic night Monday at Windsor Elementary School, but a "Story Slam" that drew second-through fifth-grade students to step up and read their published works.

Their range included comic books, mysteries and fantasy stories -- and with some technical help, students read in front of projected images, showing audience members their original illustration for their works.

The informal event, was the result of the school's unique extracurricular activity: its writing club.

This year, some 16 students met once a month to learn about different genres -- including poetry, cartoons, narratives, expository and persuasive writing -- while keeping journals, and working on their own works.

"They are the really passionate writers," says Patti Malinowski, a fifth-grade teacher who moderated the club with the school's tech adviser, Mark Fijor, and parent Heidi Graham of Arlington Heights.

"It was exciting to see the different writing and the passion they put into their stories," Malinowski adds. "The stories were well-developed and very descriptive."

With the help of Fijor, students saw their works published on the school's Web site, and they also will be the first entries in the school's new digital library.

Those interested in reading their stories can visit Windsor's Web page, www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/ schools/windsor, and look for the "Awesome Authors" link on the left side of the page.

For the young writers themselves, however, they took home their self-published works, which were laminated and bound for posterity.

Malinowski says this is the second year the school has sponsored the club, and while numbers have fluctuated, its members demonstrate strong writing skills.

"The children that choose to be in this," Malinowski says, "really have strength in writing. It's amazing to see what they create."