Contra Costa County’s Art and Writing Contest

Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center 14th Annual PEACE through ART & WRITING CHALLENGE

2011 For Middle School Students

TOPIC: Often we create divisions between ourselves and others because of race, religion, politics, sexual orientation or even minor things such as dress or mannerisms. Have you or someone you know ever been subject to verbal abuse or bullying as a result of these or any other differences? How did you/they handle the situation? What steps can we take to create an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance of all people?

Ideas to consider: • What connection is there between individual tolerance and peace between nations? • How can one person stand up against intolerance and bullying? • Are internet and email bullying more harmful than “in person” bullying?

☺Winners will be honored at an Awards Dinner on Saturday, May 14, 2011☺ ________________________________________ CATEGORIES •

Essay

750 words or less •

Creative writing – poem, story, play • Art – any medium •

Video on DVD CONTEST RULES:

1. Contest is open to all Contra Costa County students.

2. For all entries: Include a cover sheet with your name, home address, phone number, email address, school, grade, teacher (or teacher who informed you of the contest), teacher’s phone number and email address, entry category and title of your work.

3. All writing entries are to be a maximum of 750 words: typed, double-spaced, with numbered pages. Please have a teacher review your writing before submitting. If possible, send the document as an email attachment to [email protected]. Otherwise, send two copies by mail. Writing entries will not be returned. 4. For art entries, attach the cover sheet on the back. Art may be picked up after May 14.

5. Entries will be judged on clarity, originality, depth of thought, and skill.

6. Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center reserves the right to reprint all entries.

DEADLINE: Postmarked or delivered no later than Monday, March 7, 2010.

SEND OR DELIVER TO: Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center, 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596; (925) 933-7850.

Thanks to generous donations from The Schmidt Family in loving memory of Amanda Schmidt; Mountain Camp; and the George Miller Youth Fund.

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Literary Zine for Girls Ages 7 – 12 and 13 – 17

chixLIT is written by girls ages 13-17. chixLITtle is by girls 7-12.
 
Girls submit from all over the world–Trinidad, Japan, Russia, Germany, Canada… 
 
The ‘zines are ad-free, small, bimonthly, color.   Submissions are made via email. Accepted writers get a free copy of their issue.   Subscriptions are available for a very small fee.   Editors accept poems, short stories, essays, rants, raves, song lyrics, and reviews as long as they are original and authentic.  
Visit http://chixlit.com/submissions.html   submission information.
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Your Super Pet Writing Contest

Write an imaginary newspaper article for The Daily Planet about your Super-Pet (or the pet of a friend, relative or neighbor) and how he/she did something extraordinary.

Submit your entry in our online newspaper template below and attach a picture or photograph if available – or print the template, draw a picture and mail your entry to Picture Window Books. The entry should have all the elements related to a newspaper article and will be judged on creativity, content and originality.

First place: The Super-Pet from the winning entry will be drawn by Eisner award-winner Art Baltazar and will appear in a DC Super-Pets book. Winner will receive the original illustration. The winner and his/her school will receive 5 copies each of the book.

Top 50 Entries: Top 50 entrants will receive two free DC Super-Pets books; one for the student and one for the library.

Official Contest Rules

 

For a list of winners write to Picture Window Books, 7825 Telegraph Road, Bloomington, MN 55438

Contest runs from January 15 – February 28. Winner will be announced April 1st.

For an official entry form visit:

http://www.capstonepub.com/promo/DC_SUPERPETS_CONTEST

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Enter A 90 Second Video Contest!

Here are the rules quoted from James Kennedy’s blog:

1. Your video should be 90 seconds or less. (Okay, okay: if it’s three minutes long but absolute genius, we’ll bend the rules for you. But let’s try to keep them short.)

2. Your video has to be about a Newbery award-winning (or Newbery honor-winning) book.

3. Your video must condense the plot of the book in 90 seconds or less. Again, exceptions will be made for something really ingeniously bonkers, but it has to be related to a Newbery winning book.

4. Upload your videos to YouTube or Vimeo or whatever and send me the link at kennedyjames [at] gmail [dot] com. Make the subject line be “90 SECOND NEWBERY” and please tell me your name, age, where you’re from, and whatever other comments you’d like to include, including whether you’d like me to link to your personal site. You can give an alias if you want; I understand privacy concerns.

5. Sending the link to me grants me (James Kennedy) the right to post it on my blog and to other websites where I sometimes post content (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and to share at public readings, school visits—and hopefully the “90-Second Newbery” Film Festival at the New York Public Library in the Fall of 2011.

6. Deadline is September 15, 2011. 

Here’s his blog to see other information, and an example of a video for A WRINKLE IN TIME.

http://jameskennedy.com/90-second-newbery/

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Walnut Creek Students’ Poetry Contest and Workshops

Student Poetry Contest

“If I Could, I Would…”

Train my pets to be superheroes

Save the ocean

Turn my high school into a musical

The Walnut Creek Library Foundation celebrates poetry with our third annual student poetry contest, encouraging young writers to stretch their imaginations and dream big. The contest is open to students at Walnut Creek schools.

The deadline for submissions is March 11, 2011.

  • The contest is free and all participants will receive a poetry contestant certificate.
  • All entries must be submitted with a contest entry form. Download the brochure and entry form on their website. First, second, third place and honorable mention prizes will be awarded in four categories: K-3, 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
  • Finalists will be judged by students in the St. Mary’s Master of Fine Arts Program.
  • First, second, and third place winners will have the opportunity to read their poems at the Poetry Celebration on April 16 at the library.

New in 2011 – Poetry Workshops

Cheryl Dumesnil, poet and teacher, will offer free poetry workshops to students on Saturday, January 29 at the Walnut Creek Library. Registration opens on January 5, 2011. In order to ensure opportunity for students throughout Walnut Creek to attend, the number of participants per school may be limited.

Grades K-3 10:15 -11:00 AM        Grades 4-5 11:15-12:15 PM         

Grades 6-8 1:00-2:15 PM              Grades 9-12 2:30-3:45 PM

Workshops in the Oak View Room at the Walnut Creek Library, registration is REQUIRED. Please call 925.935.5395 to register.

Poetry Celebration and Reading!

On Saturday, April 16, there will be a reading, celebration and award ceremony at Walnut Creek Library in the Oak View Room at 11:00. We hope you join us to celebrate poetry and our world!

 www.WCLibrary.org    Download application here

 
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Writing Contests for Kids in Contra Costa County, CA

Each year, in addition to the California Writers Contest Mt. Diablo Branch’s Young Writers Contest for middle school students in Contra Costa County, there is the Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center’s annual Art and Writing Challenge for middle and high school students. 

Theirs will kick off in January 2011.  The topic:  Often we create divisions between ourselves and others because of race, religion, politics, sexual orientation or even minor things such as dress or mannerisms.  Have you or someone you know ever been subject to verbal abuse or bullying as a result of these or any other differences?  How did you/they handle the situation?  What steps can we take to create an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance of all people? 

In January, they should have their website updated to reflect the 2011 contest. 

www.mtdpc.org

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Create a Model for a Children’s Book

Look at this fabulous contest where kids used potatoes and created their favorite characters from children’s books!   If you are a teacher or librarian you could try it too. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aj_fotos/sets/72157625109250067/show/

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Calling All Contra Costa Middle Schools!

Free Contra Costa Middle School Writing Workshops!

The Mt. Diablo Branch of the California Writers Club is sponsoring a program for published writers to lead free middle school workshops in poetry, short story, and personal narrative. A generous grant to the CWC will underwrite the program costs.

Contra Costa middle school teachers, administrators, and librarians are eligible to nominate their school to participate in the program.

Send an e-mail to:  [email protected]  to state why your school should be selected. Deadline for entries is December 15, 2010. The Mt. Diablo Branch, CWC Writers in the Schools program is intended to encourage young people in creative written self-expression.

The club sponsors an annual Young Writers Contest for middle school students, awarding cash prizes in poetry, short story, and personal narrative. The 2011 contest Information is also on the club website: www.mtdiablowriters.org

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High School John F. Kennedy Profiles In Courage Essay Contest

  Eligibility

The contest is open to United States high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools; U.S. students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the U.S. territories; and U.S. citizens attending schools overseas.

Past winners and finalists are not eligible to participate. Employees of John Hancock Financial Services and members of their families are not eligible to participate.

Requirements

  • Essay submissions for the 2011 contest will be accepted starting September 1, 2010. The contest deadline is Saturday, January 8, 2011.
  • Essays can be no more than 1,000 words. Citations and bibliography are not included in the word count.
  • Essays must be the original work of the student.
  • John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy are not eligible subjects for essays.
  • Essays must describe how an elected official demonstrated political courage by addressing an issue at the local, state, or national level. See Contest Information and Writing Tips for more information.
  • Essays about previous Profile in Courage Award recipients will be disqualified unless they describe an act of political courage other than the act for which the award was given.

Source Material

  • Essays with fewer than five listed sources may be disqualified.
  • All participants must cite sources they used to research their topic throughout their essay. Please use parenthetical citations within the text. We can not accept citations in footnote form.
  • Essays must include a bibliography (using any one of the recognized formats). You must use a minimum of five selected sources. Please refer to the Prepare Your Essay section information on Citing Sources and Bibliographies.
  • Essays which rely solely on Internet sources may be disqualified.

Essay Submission

  • Students have the choice of either submitting their essay online (preferred) or of mailing their essay. All students must complete and submit a registration form online for student and school information. For instructions on how to submit your essay, see Submit your Essay.
  • Mailed in essays must be postmarked by January 8, 2011.

Nominating Teachers

  • All students must list the name of their nominating teacher on the registration form. The role of a nominating teacher is to provide students with support and advice during the writing of their essay. Nominating teachers are also asked to read students’ essays to make suggestions for improvement before they are submitted to the essay contest. As part of this review process, the nominating teacher reviews the essay for syntax, grammatical, typographical and spelling errors and ensures the essay meets the contest requirements listed above. The first place winner and his/her nominating teacher, as representatives of their school, will be invited to receive awards at the annual Profile in Courage Award ceremony held each May at the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.
  • Nominating teachers can be former or current teachers, but must still be teaching at the same high school as the essay participant. Usually students ask their English or History/Social Studies teachers. In very few cases, we will make an exception if a student is unable to ask a teacher from their high school to be their nominating teacher. The parent or legal guardian responsible for the instruction of home schooled students can also serve as a nominating teacher.

Visit    http://www.jfklibrary.org/

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Publish Your Limerick

Autumn Welcome

The Contra Costa Times is calling for limericks inspired by the color orange.  Limericks involve rhymes.  Example: 

There once was a (person) from (place).

Who (add things that lead to disgrace).

They (improbable scene)

With their (dirty or clean)

Summing up (better cut to the chase). 

Then send your orange-themed limerick to [email protected] by noon Monday, Oct. 25.  They’ll choose some for publication in their print newspaper and many others will be online.

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