Cincinnati, Ohio – 2/16/2017 – A Saint Ursula Academy sophomore is getting some national attention for a creative writing project. Shannon Donovan '19 of Cleves is one of 11 winners named by the New York Times Learning Network for its Year in Rap writing contest. The New York Times partnered with a group from Flocabulary, and they picked 11 raps out of over 800 entries, and those 11 raps were the winners for 2016.
Donovan is a sophomore in Mrs. Melissa McKee’s Creative Writing class at Saint Ursula Academy. Shannon and her classmates had four days to work on the assignment. The assignment was to simply write a rap about the important news events of 2016. In all, more than 800 students nationwide, including all of the students in Mrs. McKee’s class, submitted entries.
When asked how she chose her topics, Donovan said, “I just thought of some of the major events that happened throughout 2016 and narrowed it down to 12 or 13 topics. We looked at examples of last year's winners and had to write a rough draft and peer edit, finish the final draft, and then we finally submitted the raps.”
Donovan’s Rap:
The year 2016 was thought to be great,
But then Harambe was killed ‘cause a kid jumped the gate.
The Orlando nightclub shooting was a time of misery,
While the show that swept the Tony’s told of A Ham’s history.
For the last time Phelps swam for bronze, silver, gold,
And the news of HRC’s leaked emails are getting old.
The creepy looking clowns appeared, creating mass hysteria,
And the mannequin challenge is the newest craze in the area.
The “Make America Great Again” team is headed to D.C.,
And the House and the Senate are led by the Republican Party.
From the mind of J.K. Rowling there’s a new wizard named Newt,
Plus a Star Wars 3.5 featuring Darth Vader to boot.
This year has taken many celebs away from us,
Professor Snape, Princess Leia are a few to discuss.
And there you have it folks, 2016 in review.
Hopefully 2017 will offer something new.
To read all of the winning entries, you can visit the following link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/learning/student-winners-from-our-2016-year-in-rap-contest.html
Shannon’s entry is listed simply as Shannon and appears under the Harambe image.
Shannon says she would consider entering future contests, depending on the topic.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. 86% of the Class of 2016 earned college scholarships totaling more than $22-million.