Excuses, Excuses! Contest Winners 2026

In the excuse-writing contest, students pulled three random words from a fishbowl and had to incorporate those into excuses for why they were late to school, or why their homework was late. Unsurprisingly, students excelled at the task! 

Winner: 50 Points | Words: Kicked, Village, GPS

My homework is late because the car’s GPS sent me to the Shire, where I found myself in Hobbiton. There I was greeted by some merry, well, hobbits, who thought my math homework was a mythical treasure map of sorts. (Don’t blame them; thought so myself at first.) The villagers thought I was an intruder and subsequently kicked me out (again). Then I watched from the village gates as hobbits marched off south to find their “treasure.”  — Serena, 7th, Green

Second Place: 35 Points | Words: Funeral, Confusion, Creak

I was late to school because as I walked downstairs, the floorboards creaked underneath my feet. Suddenly, they gave away, and I had a look of utter confusion. As I fell, I knocked my goldfish into the toilet bowl. I went over to fish it out, but I fell again and hit the flush. I wept and wept as we held a funeral for my esteemed goldfish. I was so sad. And teacher… Please honor my goldfish and the feeling I hold in so much regard for it. That’s why I missed five hours of school… (sob, sob!) — Evelyn, 7th, Green

Third Place: 25 Points | Words: Astonished, Rat-pocalypse, Fried

I was going to go to school when suddenly rat-pocalypse alarm sounded! Astonished, I decided to go save the world (as an average seventh grader would). However, by the time I figured out that it was just my friend who was making fried pancakes, it was already too late. — Vincy, 7th, Gold

 Honorable Mention: 15 Points | Words: Bird, Stinky, Grocery

I was late to school because when I got outside my house to grab my bike, I smelled something really stinky. I traced it for 10 minutes before seeing rotten oranges and days old chicken from the unpacked grocery bag in the corner. I grabbed my bike while plugging my nose and got on the road. However, only 30 seconds out, a singular bird flew into my face, toppling me over. Then its mom came with the rest of the family, and sure enough, I got to school just five minutes ago! Sorry!  –Phoebe, 8th, Green 

Image by Girl.in.the.D, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0