The 36th annual Lawson Literary Awards have been handed out, with three going to Oxford County students.
OXFORD COUNTY - A trio of Oxford County public school students have been named Lawson Literary Award winners.
The awards encourage students in Grades 7 and 8 to research and write about a Canadian topic of interest, with 21 winners selected this year.
Oliver Stephens student Abby Barnes wrote about the Alberta Oil Sands after hearing about the issue from her sister.
"I started by comparing the pros and cons of the oil sands and then brought in some other points like the aboriginal point of view and I kind of used that data to formulate my own opinion."
Barnes says the award was very unexpected for her.
AJ Baker student Justine Jones wrote her essay in Laura Secord’s voice through the pages of a diary that covers highlights of her life between 1784 and 1861.
"I had done a project on Laura Secord for history so I decided to research more about her and find out more about her life."
Each winner was given $100, an award plaque and a bound copy of all Lawson Award winning entries.
Jones says she plans to save her money for the time being.
AJ Baker Student Sam Maaskant chose to focus his efforts on Canadian Inventors and the impact they have had on society.
Maaskant tells Heart FM what is was like to be crown a winner.
"It was pretty cool because it was out of a lot of people (chuckles), so it must have been good."

Abby Barnes - Oliver Stephens Public School

Sam Maaskant & Justine Jones - AJ Baker Public School
Photo courtesy of St Marys Journal Argus

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