Three Packer students received national medals for their submissions to the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country’s longest-running scholarship and recognition program for students in grades seven to 12. Amadi Williams ’21 earned a gold medal for her painting “Just Another Break.” Jake Srebnick ’21 received a gold medal for his photograph “Grand Street” and Simone Menard-Irvine ’21 won a silver medal for her poem “Sad Bad Mad.” (Full poem published at the end of this article.)

In addition to these national recognitions, four Packer Middle Schoolers and 38 Upper Schoolers received regional honors—Gold Key, Silver Key or Honorable Mention—for their visual art and/or writing. See the complete list of winners below. 

WRITING

Critical Essay
    •    Natalie Marcus-Wade ’23: Silver Key, Honorable Mention


Flash Fiction
    •    Alexander Economakis ’22: Honorable Mention 

    •    Matilda Ledger ’24: Silver Key


Personal Essay/Memoir
    •    Gala Hermer ’23: Silver Key (Personal Essay/Memoir) 

    •    Stella Lapidus ’22: Silver Key

    •    Porter Reyes ’20: Honorable Mention (2) 


Poetry
    •    Natalie Marcus-Wade ’23: Honorable Mention (Poetry)

    •    Simone Menard-Irvine ’21: Gold Key 

    •    Sophie Germain ’21: Honorable Mention 

    •    Georgia Groome ’21: Honorable Mention 

    •    Virgil Ratner ’23: Honorable Mention


Journalism
    •    Daniel Biro ’21: Silver Key, Honorable Mention 

    •    Porter Reyes ’20: Honorable Mention (2) 

    •    Ella Spungen ’19: Silver Key 


Science Fiction/Fantasy
    •    Virgil Ratner ’23: Gold Key 


Short Story
    •    Natalie Marcus-Wade ’23: Honorable Mention (Short Story)

    •    Virgil Ratner ’23: Silver Key 

    •    Alice Tecotzky ’20: Silver Key


VISUAL ART

Art Portfolio
    •    Archie Caride ’19: Honorable Mention

    •    Olivia Chinitz ’19: Silver Key 


Painting
    •    Elizabeth Deegan ’20: Honorable Mention 

    •    Dylan Ng ’20: Gold Key 

    •    Amadi Williams ’21: Gold Key 


Drawing
    •    Amadi Williams ’21: Honorable Mention 


Printmaking
    •    Lea Wong ’21: Honorable Mention 

    •    Zoe Rutkovsky ’20: Honorable Mention 


Photography
    •    Delia Barnett ’20: Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Isola Bobadilla ’22: Honorable Mention

    •    Olivia Caplin ’21: Gold Key, Silver Key (2), Honorable Mention (4)

    •    Emma Dietderich ’19: Honorable Mention

    •    Matthew Dolan ’19: Honorable Mention

    •    Henry Freedman ’19: Silver Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Liv Furman ’20: Silver Key (2), Honorable Mention

    •    Willa Gilbert-Goldstein ’20: Gold Key (2), Silver Key

    •    Georgia Groome ’21: Silver Key (2)

    •    Kaylie Harlin ’21: Silver Key, Honorable Mention (2)

    •    Nina Houston ’19: Gold Key, Silver Key

    •    Eli Harrell ’20: Silver Key

    •    Lilly Jensen ’19: Silver Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Milo Kern ’20: Honorable Mention (2)

    •    Annabel Kim ’21: Honorable Mention

    •    Sam Levine ’21: Gold Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Dante Mastropietro ’20: Silver Key (2), Honorable Mention

    •    Marco Mastropietro ’21: Silver Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Bella Pitman ’21: Gold Key (2), Honorable Mention (2)

    •    Zoe Rutkovsky ’20: Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Zoe Sloan ’21: Honorable Mention

    •    Jake Srebnik ’21: Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention

    •    Cooper Williamson ’20: Silver Key

    •    Sarah Yankauer ’20: Honorable Mention


Film and Animation
    •    Georgia Groome ’21: Honorable Mention

    •    Jake Srebnick ’21: Gold Key


Sad Bad Mad

By Simone Menard-Irvine ’21 

A million things make my body go
Sad
Bad
Mad
Another day of living here!
Inside the comfort of my bed.
It takes some years for me to remember
all the wretched things I've done.
I was tricked into a person that I barely even know.
Who is she? Why does she stare?
How does she notice the upturn of my lips?
Staring in the mirror and staring at my–
both I don’t quite understand.
Ten times a day,
I get mad because you’re you,
I get furious because I’m me.
There are claws connected to nothing,
that dig into my core;
and there are angels with red eyes,
that gently strangle my last remaining pleasantries.
Niceties,
lovely words,
they spill and pour out of my loose lip mouth,
slosh and bang around a bucket filled with tremors.
I hit the wall with a thud,
Nauseous as I watch the whole world move on without me.
I can’t miss out!
I won’t miss out?
If it’s raining right now
and I listen to music
will I accidentally cut the single strand
that connects me to all of you?
No, No, No,
Now I’m onto bad.
Now the evil little thoughts
That pinprick my right brain
Will bubble down to my temples
And pop right out my mouth.
Hateful, loathsome, awful thoughts,
Hold a contest over how awful I can be.
I have no energy
(suicidal)
I have no feelings
(my speech is idle).
Watch my fingernails grow long enough to break,
fixated on the scratches and the stitches of my hat,
accidentally pulling out threads
with a flick of my hand.
There is bad in my body and the pain it likes to sing,
Plead mercy on the seaglass that drips down from my left eye,
the sea foam that envelops me
stealing one of my nine lives.
I sense the sad bad mad
bubbling from the depths of a tossing, turning ocean,
But I don’t feel sad sad sad
when it washes me away.