YELLOWKNIFE - This year, J.H. Sissons school is home to the first and third-place winners in the Northwest Territories in a national writing contest.

Chantelle Duval (left) and Sarah Nesbitt were first and third-place winners respectively in the Northwest Territories region of the annual GMAC Great Canadian Writing Contest. - Laura Power/NNSL photo

The General Motors Acceptance Corporation Great Canadian Writing Contest, a bilingual story writing competition, was open to students in Grades 5 and 6 all over the country.

In the Northwest Territories, the first place winner was Chantelle Duval, a Grade 5 student at J.H. Sissons school.

Chantelle Duval wrote a story in French about her sister, who put on fake piercings and tattoos as an April Fool's Day joke.

Her story is called "J'ai eu la surprise de ma vie quand ma soeur a ouvert la porte," which translates to "I Had the Shock of my Life When my Sister Opened the Door."

Daniel Duval, Chantelle's father, said he was excited for her when they found out about the win.

"She's always been creative - she's done an incredible amount of reading," he said. "It's all excellent reading for her and it really encourages them to write."

Chantelle Duval said she would like to keep on writing and maybe write for a living when she grows up.

The second-place winner in the Northwest Territories was Lisa Giovanetto, a Grade 6 student also of Yellowknife. Her story, titled "The Right Choice," won her the prize.

Third place went to another Grade 5 student at J.H. Sissons, Sarah Nesbitt. She wrote a story about her dad's feet called "I Hope I Don't Pass Out Too!"

"It's a made up story but it's about my dad's stinky feet... he laughed when he read it," she said.

Nesbitt shared in the excitement with Duval and their teacher, Monique Marinier.

"Our teacher was screaming when she knew we won," said Nesbitt.

Marinier said she encouraged her students to join in the competition by writing a 200-word story in either French or English, and that all 19 students in the class submitted one.

Along with creating the story, the students were also required to illustrate their work. Marinier said the students worked hard at their stories.

"As far as I'm concerned, I had quite a few winners in that class," she said.