Local civic organizations support Waynesboro Writes

The Waynesboro Cultural Commission is pleased to announce that unprecedented support by three of Waynesboro’s civic organizations to fund the publication of Waynesboro Writes.  The Waynesboro and the Waynesboro- East Augusta Rotary Clubs and the Waynesboro Kiwanis have provided financial resources for the annual publication.  “We are grateful to the three clubs for their aid.  Without their  support, the Commission could not have published the fourth in the series,” said Dr. Clair Myers, chair of the Waynesboro Cultural Commission.

Waynesboro Writes demonstrates the development of writing and thinking skills of Waynesboro’s elementary students.  From the short one or two sentence entries from kindergarten students to the longer, multi-paragraph pieces from fifth grade students, readers can see the growth nurtured by teachers in the our public schools.   Wenonah School principal Rebecca Jarvis who helped to originated the project reports, “Waynesboro Writes is a unique and wonderful showcase for student writing. The project is good for the students and for communicating the work that is done within the schools. Thanks to the generosity and dedication of the sponsors, our students’ work will be published and shared with the Waynesboro community.”

Sue Wright of the East-Augusta/Waynesboro Rotary echoed those sentiments, “This project celebrates the creativity, thoughts, and writing skills of Waynesboro’s students. We have been delighted with the outcome and anxiously await the next publication.”    Sara Scott of The Rotary Club of Waynesboro said that the club chose to support the project because “Waynesboro Writes seemed a natural fit with our values and goals of aiding in cultural and educational growth of our area youth.”  The same would be said by the Waynesboro Kiwanis Club which makes support of children its first priority.

The Cultural Commission’s first publication of student writings was Wenonah Writes.  An anonymous donor stepped forward and provided additional funds that allowed the Commission to expand the publication to include all four Waynesboro elementary schools.  Each school annually selects the best student writing from kindergarten through fifth grade.  The entries are combined to produce Waynesboro Writes.  A copy of the publication is provided to each student in the four elementary schools as well  teachers and staff.  When Waynesboro Writes is released, free copies of the publication will be available at the Waynesboro Heritage Museum, the Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Stone Soup Books and Cafe and the Waynesboro Public Library.

Waynesboro Writes is one of the many projects of the Cultural Commission to support community writing. Workshops on topics such as the personal essay, fiction writing, and screenwriting are hosted by the Commission.

For more information on these projects, visit the Commission’s website www.waynesboroculture.com.