by Daniel Duric, for the Newport Dispatch

NEWPORT –– Oliver Sykes, a student at North Country Union Junior High School, has been selected as one of only two national winners in the 2025 Newsela Scary Story Contest. Oliver, who is from Derby and the son of Lyndsay and Barry Sykes, will have his original story published on the Newsela website.

As part of this recognition, Oliver also earned a classroom pizza party and a $100 gift card to support classroom supplies.

This achievement follows a rich and engaging creative writing unit, led by NCUJHS Language Arts teacher Vicky Gratton, in which students read spooky stories, studied story structure, and explored figurative language and sensory details.

Each student then crafted an original scary story and submitted it to Newsela’s nationwide competition. Oliver’s story was one of more than 1,200 submissions in the 2025 competition.

Oliver’s story about an ill-fated soccer game, The Match of Doom, advanced through several rounds of selection, earning quarterfinalist and semifinalist status before being featured during Newsela’s live-streamed October 31st event, “Newselaween,” where celebrities read excerpts from standout student submissions. A national voting process then determined the contest’s two overall winners.

Newsela is an online platform that provides leveled reading materials and instructional content for students. It allows teachers to assign articles, stories, and activities at different reading levels so all students can engage with the same topics in ways that match their abilities.

“We are incredibly proud of Oliver and all of our students who embraced creativity and put their writing out into the world,” said Elaine Collins, NCSU Superintendent of Schools. “This is an outstanding accomplishment and a wonderful celebration of student voice.”