By Mary Headley

Two Niwot Elementary fifth graders recently won third place in the annual statewide Anne Frank Competition.  Kylie Arters won third place in the poetry division and Lily Perry won third place in the fiction division.  Both girls wrote winning entries on this year’s theme of “The Triumphant Spirit.” Kylie’s poem is reprinted below.

Fifteen fifth graders from Niwot Elementary entered the contest this year after attending a special writing class sponsored by fifth-grade teacher Karen Packard.  “The holocaust and World War II are an important part of history that kids need to understand,” said Karen, who has sponsored the extracurricular writing class for two years.  “It’s a great way for students to get experience writing for a specific purpose, using specific guidelines,” she said, noting that the contest has strict requirements that must be met.

The Anne Frank Competition honors creativity and excellence in writing, art, dance and multimedia works.  Now in its 10th year, the University of Colorado at Denver, the Denver Public Schools and the Denver Post present this prestigious competition.  It has many sponsors, including the Denver Broncos.

A Child Asks “Why?”

By Kylie Arters

We are young and we do not understand 
The horrible things happening in our land. 
They tell us we are all dirty and bad, 
Their hate and their cruelty make us sad.

Why do they think all these terrible things? 
Don’t they know the hurt that it brings? 
Don’t they see that we’re all the same 
In spite of the difference of face and name?

The brothers are gone, the sisters are crying, 
The mothers and babies are starving and dying. 
The fathers are beaten and taken away, 
They might not live to see another day.

What is our crime?  What have we done? 
We’ve tried to be good daughters and sons. 
Our religion is different, that is true. 
But does that make us less human than you?

All we can do is wait for the day 
When God will deliver us, that’s what we pray. 
Until then, we’ll just try to survive 
And keep faith and hope and love alive.

Photo by Becky Arters

Anne Frank Writing Competition winners Lily Perry and Kylie Arters received their third place checks and certificates at a special honors ceremony held in Denver on May 7.