Firewheel Christian Academy is about to get a lot more books in their library, thanks to the creative writing ability of Bailey Vinson The 12-year-old has won Explore Horizon’s 2016 Young Writers’ Awards competition and in addition to receiving a Kindle Fire HD, her school will receive $500 worth of books from Explore Horizons, the UK-based chain of enrichment and tutoring centers that has DFW locations in Colleyville, Garland, Plano, Fort Worth and Frisco with plans to expand into more communities.
Competing with other North Texas students 14 years old and younger, Bailey had to create a memorable story on the theme of “The Mammoth Mash-up” to take the top prize. Runners-up in this year’s competition are Julian Campos from Watauga Middle School and Varuna Veluri from Skaggs Elementary.
Award-winning children’s author Lauren Child, “Charlie and Lola” and “Rudy Redfort.” was this year’s celebrity judge.
“The entries this year really showed the wonderful and creative minds of North Texas students. It was delightful experiencing each and every adventure these young students put together,” said Child.
The Young Writers’ Awards is an annual competition hosted by Explore Horizons and is open to all North Texas students 14 years and younger. The program challenges students to create an original story of up to 500 words using a selected theme.
About Firewheel Christian Academy: Located at 5500 Lavon Drive in Garland, Firewheel Christian Academy is a private school serving Garland and the surrounding suburbs of Dallas. With an enrollment of students in attendance from diverse multi-cultural heritages, FCA has been committed to providing quality, affordable Christian education since 1981. Firewheel Christian has four divisions based on grade level. These include: early education (6mos. – 4 years); preschool and kindergarten (K-4 and K-5); elementary school (1st – 5th grades) and middle school (6th-8th grades).