Fremd High School will be hosting its annual Writers Week event from February 22-26. Since 1995, Fremd has celebrated great writers, musicians, and artists through Writers Week, an entire week dedicated to showcasing talented students, faculty, and professionals. The event gains widespread support every year as students are encouraged to express themselves and to watch their peers perform. From poetry to musical performances, Writers Week has something for everyone.

From its origins at Fremd, Writers Week has inspired other schools across the nation to launch variations of the event. English teacher Sarah Braverman feels that Fremd students have a sense of pride towards Writers Week as it is an event that emerged from their own school.

“Students like something that is unique to their high school, and Writers Week is so unique to Fremd,” Braverman said. “Now it’s starting to be picked up in other places, but it started here. And it’s something so special to us and something that we can be so proud of because regardless of if other schools start to do it, they’re doing it because we did it first. And I think that students take a lot of pride in that and it becomes something that is unique to Fremd High School and it’s something that Fremd put on the map.”

The pride students feel during Writers Week is especially apparent as student performers share their personal stories and are supported by the whole Fremd community. Junior Sarah Jones believes that the emotional aspect of Writers Week is what makes it so unique compared to other events at Fremd.

“I think Writers Week is unique because we’re all learning, but it’s also emotional as well. But overall, it allows us to connect with what we’re learning in the classroom here at Fremd High School,” Jones said.

Over the years, more Fremd students have been able to open up and express themselves through their writing. Herriges notes that this may be a result of increased faculty and professional participation in the event.

“I think when more students get to go through the experience of seeing Writers Week and they see the impact that it has on the people telling the story, students want to be a part of it,” Herriges said. “It allows them to voice ideas and it helps to inspire them to say, ‘I got something to say and I’m going to go up there and share what I have to say’. And I think it also creates an ideal by seeing the power of what writing and reading can do.”

Another factor than has attracted people like Sophomore Kaveen Desai is that it does not only have to be for writers. Everyone can gain something from the performances at Writers Week.

“At first I wasn’t so sure about it because I wasn’t really interested in writing, but when I went in it was really interesting to hear people’s stories and the messages they had,” Desai said. “I actually learned a lot from it.”

In recent years, Writers Week has evolved to include the student body even more. Such additions include a Writers Week podcast called ‘Write Life’ as well as smaller events throughout the year such as Write Night. Braverman reflects on these changes and the meaning of Writers Week.

“I think that the most important element of Writers Week is that it hasn’t changed over the years,” Braverman said. “Something as simple as the couches that are on stage during student and faculty presentations. It’s nice that even though things are changing there are certain traditions and certain elements of Writers Week that won’t change.”