By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
Earlier this month, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 334 and Auxiliary were proud to announce an Oxford student and teacher won the 2021 VFW 5th District Patriot’s Pen and Teacher of the Year awards. The 5th District includes Oakland and Macomb counties.

Madolyne Winowski, a seventh grader at Oxford Middle School, took the Patriot’s Pen first place for her essay on the topic “What does patriotism mean to me?” For this she received $300.
“I am excited about this essay and what it means to me and maybe to others,” Winowski said. “I am lucky, fortunate, proud, and humbled to have received this reward. I am very moved that everyone has enjoyed my story on Patriotism.”
Winowski’s essay describes how her Polish grandparents and great-grandparents came to America after surviving Nazi and Communist invasions and being forcibly taken to Siberia. She considers herself lucky to have been close to them before they passed away in the last few years.
“During my time with them, they would take me places, teach me life lessons, and tell me of their life and their adventures. This is how I learned about my Polish heritage and some of the struggles that our families had, in order to give us the best life here in America.”
Her family is proud of her, and she says her family has been very supportive. “I am excited to see where this essay will take me and who it may move.”
Last year, a then-seventh grade Kingsbury Country Day School student, Ruby Howe, won the national Patriot’s Pen contest for her essay on “What makes America great.” Howe won $5,000 and a trip to Washington D.C. where she met President Donald Trump.
This year’s 5th District Teacher of the Year Award for the middle school level went to Michael Ginger, a social studies teacher from Kingsbury Country Day. He received $200. Teachers who promote civic responsibility, flag etiquette and patriotism are prime candidates for this award.

“To be quite honest, I am truly surprised and honored to be chosen as the local VFW teacher of the year. As a teacher, I simply try to motivate and inspire my students to do their best by having high expectations for their growth and success and pushing them to be successful both while they are my students and also when they leave my care and head into high school,” Ginger said. 
Madolyne Winowski and Michael Ginger now move forward to the Department Of Michigan VFW Voice of Democracy, Patriots Pen and Teacher of the Year ceremony on Jan. 30, which due to COVID-19 will be a Zoom meeting.

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What Does Patriotism Mean To Me?
By Madolyne Winowski,
7th grade, Oxford Middle School
Patriotism to me is not a simple definition that can be found in a textbook. It is a feeling, a belief, a value. The dictionary definition of patriotism means loyalty, devotion and a rigorous support for one’s country. It is so much more than a shout of the anthem. It is a belief, a respect for our government and all its institutions. Patriotism is expressed within our values and beliefs, our democracy and individual freedoms, similar to being a member in a family. School teaches us from early years about our flag, who we are as a nation, respect for our country, and what it means to be an American.
We are a nation founded under God as in our Pledge of Allegiance. We are grateful to our forefathers who fought for this country’s freedom. This is part of our patriotism – a feeling of pride, our way of life living within the framework of our Constitution. It is making sure our basic freedoms are always preserved and never taken away from us.
Patriotism unites all of us as a nation. It is a way of life. It represents our freedom, our ability to learn right from wrong, supporting our country, and not losing faith in what our country represents. Patriotism is evident in times when we come together in crises. Helping one another, those who have served, those who died sacrificing their lives to preserve our freedoms, those who continue to sacrifice and protect our country. I have family members both living and deceased who fought in WWII and the Vietnam War.
Patriotism is not just obeying our government, our flag or our National Anthem. It is having pride, love, respect and our way of life. My great grandparents were of Polish descent and fought courageously in both wars against Communism and Nazi invasions. My grandparents and great grandparents were forcibly taken from their home in Poland to Siberia in Russia and survived. After the war and being displaced they had a choice to return to their homeland or seek other arrangements in other countries. They choose to come to America – land of hope, freedom and opportunity. They became citizens and taught our family love and respect for this country and its freedoms. In this great nation you can start with nothing. Just like my great-grandparents did and looked forward to the bright future.