Mary Readman 2008 Write On Contest

Categories | Judging Criteria | Contest Rules | 2007 Contest winners

To all Teachers and Principals

Get your kids involved in your weekly community newspaper with this fun and educational contest!

The Concept and the Benefits
The "Write On" promotion is designed to reach out to local students and motivate them to submit written material for publication in your newspaper. Some benefits of this project are:

An opportunity to “connect” with your local school administrators and teachers.
You have the opportunity to capture new readers now while they're most easily influenced in the younger grades.
Your chance to show young readers that their local newspaper is really the heartbeat of their community.

Elements of the Promotion

The "Write On" promotion targets in on three separate segments of local students (Grades 1 to 3, Grades 4 to 6 and Grades 7 to 12).
"Creative Classifieds" has been specifically chosen for the Grades 1 to 3 students. The students pick a classified ad from your paper and write up to a 200 word imaginative story based on the ad. A used car ad might lead to a tale about the family who owned the car and the reasons for selling it.
The "Junior Reporters" contest targets students from Grades 4 to 6. The student writes about a school-related event or activity using up to 200 words.
The "Write an Opinion" contest targets in on the junior high and senior grades and asks students to write a 100 to 300 word Letter to the Editor, expressing their views on any issue which directly affects their community.

The stories and letters must be turned in to you by Friday, April 18, 2008. You would have until April 28, 2008 to select the winners. Prizes would be awarded locally to one winner each from Grade 1; Grades 2/3; Grades 4 to 6; Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12.

Local winners would have their work published in your paper and would advance to the provincial level, where five grand prize winners would be chosen. At the provincial level, "Creative Classified" winners would each receive $100 from AWNA, "Junior Reporters" would receive $300 from AWNA and "Write an Opinion" winners would receive $500 from AWNA.

Some Tips For Success

School Support: Contact school principals and teachers to determine school support. Go to the school’s main office and ask for permission to stuff copies of the brochure into teacher mail boxes. Leave piles of the brochure at the main reception desk and in the teachers’ lounge as well.*
Kids' Prizes: You could contact a few of your local businesses for donations and possibly set aside a few dollars from the newspaper. Some prize ideas include; gift certificates, cash, plaques or wall certificates, summer camp, specialty training, sports enrollment, dancing, etc.
Promotion in Paper: Run filler ads (can be picked up from AWNA’s FTP site) and a story explaining what "Write On" is. Remind students of the opportunity to win provincially and bring recognition to their community and school.
Collect and Locally Judge Submissions: The schools have until April 18 to hand in their entries. Individual students could independently submit entries. Judging must be concluded by April 28. (We suggest including a teacher as a judge).
Promote the Winners: Take pictures and publish the winning entries in your newspaper. Arrange to present local winners with their prizes during a school assembly.
Enter Provincials: Entries will be judged at the provincial level in May. Please ensure local winning entries are submitted into Central Office by Friday, May 9, 2008.

*Let the AWNA Central Office know how many brochures you will need and we will be happy to supply them to you.

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Following is a breakdown, by grade, of the categories for the contest

CREATIVE CLASSIFIEDS
for Grades 1 through 3

Students will select a classified ad from their local AWNA member newspaper. It may come from any classified category. The actual ad must be attached to their entry.

Now, using their imaginations and writing no more than 200 words, they will describe the story behind the ad.
(Two winners: one in Grade 1 and one winner in Grades 2/3)

JUNIOR REPORTER
for Grades 4 through 6

Students will investigate any school related event asking their colleagues questions, opinions, comments about the event.

They will then write a report of no more than 200 words.
(One winner: from Grades 4–6)

WRITE AN OPINION
for Grades 7 through 12

Students will have a chance to express their opinions on a local issue and win valuable prizes. They will choose an issue which directly affects their community, researching the topic, using the local paper and other appropriate sources of information.

Based on this information they will write a 100 to 300 word letter to the Editor on the issue.
(Two winners: one in Grade 7–9, one in Grade 10–12)

In the event of Provincial Winners, the students and parents will be contacted by the local newspaper for the purpose of awarding prizes and arranging accommodation for the family for the Friday night’s banquet, entertainment and presentation at the AWNA convention in September.

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Judging Criteria Guide

CREATIVE CLASSIFIEDS:

Originality

Human Interest

Clarity

Spelling, Grammar, Legibility

JUNIOR REPORTERS:

Demonstrates the students gathered all the facts

Answers the 5 Ws of reporting – Who, What, When, Where and Why

Clarity

Spelling, Grammar, Legibility

WRITE AN OPINION:

Clarity of Expression

Knowledge of Topic

Logical Reasoning

Original Thought

Spelling, Grammar, Legibility

Contest Flow

January 21/08 — School is provided with contest information.
January 28 – April 18/08 — Students work on entries, teachers choose BEST entry/entries and return to local AWNA member newspaper.
April 21 – 28/08 — Newspaper picks local winner, and sends these on to the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association.
May — AWNA chooses the provincial winners, contacts and papers and sends out prizes.

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Contest Rules

Students registered in Alberta's and NWT’s public, separate, private schools and home schooling are eligible to enter if they live in an area served by one of the more than 100 AWNA member newspapers.
The story for the Creative Classifieds Contest must be based on a classified ad taken from the local AWNA member newspaper. A copy of the original ad MUST accompany the story. EXAMPLE: A used car ad might lead to a tale about the family who owned the car and reasons for selling it.
Junior Reporters can write about an event in their community or school. They might talk to the team who won or didn’t win their recent sports event, for example.
Entries in the Write An Opinion Contest must be based on an issue directly affecting the community.
Teachers will submit entries to their local newspaper no later than Friday, April 18, 2008.

A total of five local prize winners will be selected by this newspaper, in the following categories:

Creative Classifieds	Grade 1 Grades 2/3
Junior Reporters	Grades 4 – 6
Write An Opinion	Grades 7 – 9 Grades 10 – 12

All local prize winners’ entries will be submitted by this newspaper to the AWNA for judging at the provincial level. A committee of experts will then select the five Grand Prize winners. The two winners chosen from the Creative Classifieds entries will each receive $100 from AWNA. The winner from the Junior Reporter category will receive $300. The two winners in the Write An Opinion Contest will each receive $500 from AWNA.
Winners and their families will be invited to attend Friday evening’s event at AWNA’s convention to receive provincial recognition. (Accommodation and Friday’s banquet included). Winners’ teachers will also be invited to attend — (Friday’s banquet meal and accommodation included). Those teachers who do attend will receive $250 from the AWNA for their support in the contest.

If you are a winner, please contact your local Write On coordinator and provide them with contact information or contact the AWNA office, 1-800-282-6903 / 780-434-8746 Ext. 225. This contact information will be used for ‘invitation purposes’ only.
Decisions of the judges are final. All entries become the property of the AWNA.

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Teachers and Principals

YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER

Will be happy to help you and your students in the organization of this contest. Just give them a call.

Once you have gathered and graded your entries, please ensure that ONLY the winners are handed in to your local community newspaper no later than April 18, 2008.

The newspaper will then have until April 28 to select the local winners. Local winners will have their work published in the paper and would then advance to the provincial level, where five Provincial winners will be chosen.

Working with your community newspaper will help your students find out that the local paper is really the heartbeat of their community. They will also begin to realize just how important their input is to the community newspaper.

Your students will benefit from their involvement with their community newspaper in this contest and your local newspaper will benefit from their involvement with your students and your school.

Students registered in Alberta’s and the NWT’s public, separate, private schools and home schooling are eligible to enter if they live in an area served by one of the over 100 AWNA member newspapers.

Teachers — You could give 10 marks per category providing you with a range of marks, making it easier to pick a winner. You may judge all the entries and submit the top entry, OR you can turn ALL the entries in to the paper for local judging. Please arrange this with your local newspaper. Also, record the total number of entries you received in each category.

Recognition — In addition to the monetary awards, the parents and teachers of the 5 Provincial Winners will be invited for Friday evening’s banquet and entertainment at the AWNA Fall Convention. One night’s accommodation included. Attending teachers will receive $250 from the AWNA.

For more information please contact the AWNA office at 1-800-282-6903 or 780-434-8746 Ext. 225

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TEACHERS

Meet the Write On bookworm, here to help you motivate your students to read, write and do some creative and critical thinking using their local weekly newspaper.

All you do is devote some class time for the appropriate category, as described below. This project can easily be used as part of assigned classwork.

We would urge you to encourage your students to use their local weekly newspaper from home, but if you need complimentary copies of your local AWNA paper, please contact the editor or publisher.

Local AWNA member newspapers will select five winners, from the grade categories noted below, as their local prize winners, who will receive prizes arranged by the local newspapers. The winning stories and letters will be published.

The Provincial Prize Winner breakdown is as follows:

Two winners: Creative Classifieds — $100 each
One winner: Junior Reporters — $300
Two winners: Write An Opinion — $500 each

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Attention Publishers!
It’s “Write On” time again!

The “Write On” contest is an excellent way for community newspapers, teachers and students to get to know each other better. The students and teachers get the opportunity to learn more about the workings of a newspaper and the newspaper has a chance to meet its future readers.

The success of the contest depends on the efforts of the newspaper staff as well as the co-operation of the teachers and staff of local schools.

“Write On” gives every student, no matter what grade level they are at, the chance to get better acquainted with their local paper, sharpen reading, writing and research skills, as well as giving them a chance to win great prizes.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the newspaper to capture new readers, for students to get their work published and for teachers to have some fun as well. The amount of fun to be had depends on how involved participants are willing to get.

Brought to you by the Community Education Committee.

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2007 Write On Contest winners

The following submissions are reprinted as entered:

Creative Classified winner - $100

Grade 1
Rielly Castle, Oyen Public School
Submitted by the Oyen Echo

Ad: KEYS FOUND - severla keys on 2 rings. Owner may claim by identifying and paying for this ad. Call Oyen Echo….

Peter Ball had 10 keys for his car, his house, his basement and his secret hideout. One night Pete Ball went to his secret hideout. He used his key and put it in his pocket. Then he pressed his hand against the identification scanner to get into his Science room. It said, "Caution - Poison". Pete pressed it anyway. The door opened and Pete went in. He practiced his Science project and then left. When he got to his house, he noticed that he had a hole in his pants. He had lost his keys. Pete called 911 - which was the police. Pete said, "What is going on? Who stole my keys" Did a ninja steal them or something?" The policeman said, "Let me check my GPS. It tracks the bad guys." Pete phoned the newspaper and put in an ad while he waited for the police. The GPS tracked the ninja to a castle. That ninja was the ruler of the ninjas and was the toughest ninja in the world. The policeman sent the SWAT team to the castle. The policeman had to send more policemen because the SWAT team wasn't enough. That ninja was tough! But the police got the keys back from the ninja. Some of the policemen were hurt. The policeman gave Pete back his keys. He said, "Thank-you."

Creative Classified winner - $100

Grade 3
Kyla Meinczinger, Blueberry Community School
Submitted by the Stony Plain Reporter/ Spruce Grove Examiner

Ad: TWO 6 month old puppies to give away to good home, preferably a farm. Call…

Hi my name is Mia and I am 6 months old. I have a twin sister named Angel but I am much cuter than her. We both have brown hair on our ear and long brown har on our bodies. Our owners say we have big sad eyes but I think we are quite happy. We are going to get a new home. Angel and I hope it's a farm because we love to bark at cows and jump at their tails. They don't seem to like it much. I don't understand why.

Another reason why I want it to be a farm is because it gets all wet and muddy. I love to run through it, getting very dirty, because I get a nice hot bath afterwards. I hope my new owners are nice and know where to buy milk bones and toys at.

Guess I sould go to bed now because I'm getting tired. Angel is already sleeping and is running in her sleep, guess she's chasing a cow. I'm going to go join her, good night.

Junior Reporter winner - $300

Grade 6
Rhiannon Hatch, Harry Gray Elementary School
Submitted by the Valleyview Valley Views

J-days a Blast!!

From Jan. 22nd to 26th all the staff and students at Harry Gray Elementary School had the privilege of participating in games and activities beginning with the letter J.

During recesses there were activities. There were jacks, jigsaw puzzles, and jump roping at morning and afternoon recess every day that week, and the other activities at lunch recess included jalopy races, which Briana and Breezi (Breeanna) won, jareoke (Karaoke) and the students even got to play floor hockey with the Valleyview Jets hockey team!

There were also dress-up days beginning with the letter J. They included jeans and jersey day, jammie day, and jazzy hat day. I wore a leather home-made top hat with a Canadian flag taped to it.

"My favorite day is jammie day because you don't have to get changed in the morning" says Breezi.

There were also other activities available. Every morning all the children jogged down the hallways. After jogging every day, one of the classes got to go play on the jungle gym for as long as the teacher thought necessary. On Thursday, each class got to have 10 minutes to think of words beginning with the letter J, which fit in each category that was listed on the paper. We called the game jattegories.

Just as a treat, the children got a jump-start breakfast (on Monday) Juicy Fruit gum (on Thursday) and a Jersey Milk chocolate bar (on Friday).

On sale that week was junk food, like candy necklaces, chocolate bars, and gummies. In the study area, jello cups were on sale for $0.50, and in the office there were tickets for sale to guess how many jelly beans were in a jar.

As you can see, J days were a big hit wand every one had a great time participating in these totally cool activities.

Write an Opinion winner - $500

Grade 7
Michaelia Lanctot
Submitted by the Whitecourt Star

A Scary Lesson Learned

You have to ask yourself, "What are you willing to lose?" Your family? Your friends? Your freedom?

Daily the citizens of Whitecourt are reminded through the media and advertisements to not drink and drive. Somehow, I have a feeling that the message is not getting through.

It was during the Easter break when it baffled me. The day my younger brother and I decided to help the community. We decided to collect bottles in the five kilometer stretch from my house to town. We saw this as an opportunity to help the community and profit from the hard work.

When we drove into town earlier that day, we realized that the five kilometer stretch needed cleaning. We wanted to help put a stop to the littering by picking up bottles in the spring weather and melting snow. It took us four hours to clean up all the bottles in the ditches. It amazed me on how many bottles there were, but appalled me on what kind of bottles they were.

We collected over six hundred bottles. Astonishingly, for every non-alcoholic container there was approximately five alcoholic containers. It then started to scare me. Even though we made over seventy-five dollars, it scares me to death to think of how many drivers had travelled this short stretch and were obviously drinking.

As my brother and I worked gathering these bottles, I was also frustrated by the many irresponsible people speeding by with little consideration for us. When you mix drinking, driving, and speeding it's such a dangerous and deadly thing. It stuns me because I travel the same road everyday and I wonder how many people are putting my life and the life of others at risk. Which makes me think, is it ever going to stop? Sure I can profit from picking bottles, but is putting my life at risk worth it?

We can hear messages on the radio, we can see the consequences of drinking and driving on our T.V's and billboards, but no matter what…the only way that we can stop drinking and driving is to ask ourselves, "What are you willing to lose"?

Write an Opinion winner - $500

Grade 11
Katie Kienlen
Submitted by the Stony Plain Reporter/ Spruce Grove Examiner

It seems that for months the media has been filled with stories of kids mercilessly stabbing each other and beating people to death on public busses (example: the Stefan Conley bus beating - March 2: and the Josh Hunt murder - Oct 14 of last year). For a while, I was wary of every shady teenage face at the movie theatre and suspicious of every group of boys at the mall. The extensive media coverage of teen violence had me convinced that every kid my age was not to be trusted. I believed that the next generation (my generation) was totally out of control. However, when I saw the Children of Ecuador article in the Newsmakers section of the Grove Examiner on Friday, April 13, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. It was so refreshing to see big colorful photos of high school students doing something supremely noble and kind. As I read the delightfully long and detailed article (written by Rich Gossen), I was filled with optimism for my generation. I especially loved reading the student volunteers' feelings about the trip. They commented on the smiles on the Ecuadorian childrens' faces and how satisfying the work done on the school was, rather than exclaiming how great the weather and beaches were. The volunteers' trip to Ecuador is proof that not all teens are the vain, violent villains who are destined to ruin society. I would like to say to readers that we shouldn't let a few extremely rotten kids mold society's view of an entire age group. You wouldn't throw out an entire bag of oranges because one or two had black spots, would you? Our community needs to see and recognize more of the good things teenagers contribute to society. We need to put more faith and trust into the next generation.

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