The Veterans of Foreign Wars Irondequoit Post 6597 has honored five students from Dake Junior High School for their essays submitted to the VFW Patriots Pen Competition. This nation-wide competition for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 asks students to write a 300-400 word essay expressing their views on democracy. This year’s topic was Why America’s Veterans Should be Honored.   

Graham Burns was the grade 8 first place winner, with Allison Maier earning grade 7 first place honors. Kaila Roffman, grade 8 and Jenna Dombroski, grade 7 took second place and Alexis Sammler, grade 8 earned a third place award.

Students at Dake have participated in the competition since 2005, and winning essays are passed on to the County VFW for consideration at the County, District and National levels.