Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project writing contest

11/13/00-The Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project, a local site of the National Writing Project, recently announced the "Bridges: Moving to New American Communities" K-12 Writing Contest. The competition gives students from all grade levels an opportunity to use their creative writing talents to describe their experiences in moving to Georgia communities and to win cash prizes for their efforts.

The stories should focus on the challenges an individual or group faced while seeking ways to belong to a community in the region. The five criteria used to evaluate the entries include whether or not the story illustrates a conflict relevant to the theme, clear progression in character development, attention to visual detail, insightful portrayal of time and place in Georgia, and language appropriate to a multi-age audience. Students may submit pieces in either dramatic or narrative form and may work individually or as a team of writers.

Student entries must be sponsored by a classroom teacher from any grade level or subject area and will be divided into four categories for judging: Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12. A first-place winner from each category will receive a $100 cash prize, and a second-place winner from each one will receive $50. An additional special grand prize of $200 will be awarded for the entry from any grade level that tells the most compelling story about an individual or group coming to Georgia and dealing with the unique challenges of learning a new language.

The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2001. Winners will be notified by March 31, 2001. Prizes will be presented during an awards ceremony at Kennesaw State University on June 15, 2001. The ceremony will include a performance based on the winning entries given for the winners, their families and their teachers.

The "Bridges" K-12 Writing Contest is supported by Keeping and Creating American Communities, a three-year, interdisciplinary project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The project focuses on the dynamic relationship between formations of a local community and shifting visions of the American nation. It allows teacher participants to work with students and community members to research local life stories and develop new narratives that chronicle the dynamic changes in rural, suburban and urban landscapes and populations of northwest Georgia.

The Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project, located on the Kennesaw State University campus, has been a National Writing Project site since 1994. The KMWP supports the national teachers-teaching-teachers program aimed at improving writing instruction from kindergarten through college.

For more information about the "Bridges: Moving to New American Communities" K-12 Writing Contest or the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project, please contact Amy Meadows, Program Coordinator, at 770-499-3654 or kmwp@kennesaw.edu.