PARSIPPANY — Central Middle School Students and Creative Writing Enthusiasts Prisha Suresh and Akshara Kumar recently conducted creative writing workshops for the GRO elementary students at the Parsippany Troy Hills School District. They raised $350, which was donated to the Parsippany Food Pantry, and taught fifty Parsippany students about poetry and journaling.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, students across Parsippany faced a decline in their education because of the lack of in-person classes. Suresh and Kumar wanted to help this growing problem, but also create a fun, interactive learning environment for young students. After hours of talking, planning, and practice meetings, in March 2021, they launched a creative writing club in coordination with the Parsippany Library, called Nifty Novelists.
Each month, members of the Nifty Novelists Club pick from a selection of one book and one short story, as well as two different “types” of writing. Types of writing include a prequel of the story, a review of the story, a poem analyzing aspects of the story, etc. Members will read their story of choice and write about it during the month. Their writing would be showcased on the Nifty Novelists website and peer-reviewed before being posted.
Their meetings include fun writing activities and games, as well as creative writing workshops to help their club members while they write. Some examples are:
• A step-by-step presentation and printable guide on how to write creatively
• A critical thinking escape room that is educational but still fun!
• Multiple ELA resources, including online reading platforms and helpful writing checklists
Meetings are held during the first and fourth Saturday of each month. Participants will read their novel offline after the first meeting and complete a draft of their creative writing, all done before the second meeting. The second meeting of the month will be leveraged to edit, and peer reviews their writing.
They are welcoming members from Grades three to six to join the current Session 2 of Nifty Novelists by clicking the registration link.
After the development of their club, Suresh and Kumar decided to broaden their audience and eventually opened GRO Creative Writing Workshops for the Parsippany Troy-Hills School District. Kumar conducted poetry workshops for grades two and four while Suresh conducted journaling workshops for grades three and five. Each workshop consisted of detailed, in-depth presentations along with fun activities to accompany them.
The Parsippany Food Pantry received the proceeds of the workshops, a grand total of 350 dollars gone towards fighting hunger and poverty. The Parsippany Food Pantry collects donations of canned food, money, and goods, which go towards a customized package of food for people in need. The food pantry accommodates those with dietary restrictions as well, putting together packages for those who are vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, etc.
Many of the participants felt that the Nifty Novelists should conduct more creative writing seminars due to the success of the workshop.
“I had a lot of fun doing the activities and I learned a lot from the workshops. My favorite part was doing the escape room with my friends,” A participant of the Grade 3 session said.
The Nifty Novelists responded to this positive feedback with the creation of another workshop that was open to all students from grades 3-6. This poetry seminar was conducted at the Lake Hiawatha Library from 12-1 on Saturday, March 19.
