Also check out the HUSD parents page

We recently added a list on the district’s email list server. If you would like to keep in touch and get email updates, be sure to sign up on this new list.

Sign up at http://www.husd.org/listserver/. Our group name is “Supporters of Gifted Students”

HUSD GIFTED WRITING CONTEST

The HUSD Gifted Writing Contest encourages gifted students in grades K-8 to express themselves through writing and to challenge their writing ability.  It can also be an important creative release to help children develop self-esteem.

Each year will have a new theme.  The theme for this year is “One Hundred Years…” in celebration of HUSD’s centennial birthday (1909-2009).

RULES AND DIRECTIONS OF CONTEST

1. Entries will be accepted from grade levels K – 8 and will need to reflect grade appropriate grammar, punctuation and spelling.
2. Each student may enter up to one time in each category, but each entry must be submitted separately.
3. Parents and teachers are allowed to help, but in a limited fashion.  It is tempting to want to help gifted children too much, as we are not used to seeing them fail.  However, you will be surprised at how much they learn when challenged to do so!  To edit punctuation and grammar is fine, as well as to recommend areas of change, but do not tell the student how to make the changes.  The student’s writing will need to be done at home on their own schedule.
4. Entries will be judged on:
   • Interpretation of the theme
   • Creative ability
   • Originality
   • Mood (not included on Essays)
5. Each entry must be written on 8 ½” x 11” paper.  Please have the student’s name written on the back of each individual page and have each page numbered.  This will help protect the validity of the entry.
6. Entries may be typed or in the student’s own legible handwriting. Students may have their entries typed by another person as long as the original work or a copy of the original work is attached.  Students who are physically challenged or young (i.e. K-2) may dictate to another person who may type or write down the original work.
7. Entries must not contain last names or photos that would identify the student, class, or campus.
8. Plagiarism is not allowed.  This is defined as taking and using another person’s ideas, writings, or inventions as one’s own.  Unfortunately plagiarism is not uncommon. These entries will be disqualified and returned to the student. The discovery and consequences for the student and his/her family should be dealt with by the school’s Gifted Specialist and/or Principal.
9. Each grade will be awarded a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner along with two Honorable Mentions.

CATEGORIES

The student must specify a category for his/her work.   Please pay attention to the length restrictions and other criteria below.  Compositions that do not conform to the maximum length or other criteria will not be eligible to win an award.

POETRY – Poetry is “an imaginative statement expressed in words used with utmost economy and resonance,” or “the overflow of powerful emotion recollected in tranquility.” District Contest rules specify no limits for form, length, or subject.  No collections of poems please.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE – Personal narrative writing is about an actual experience, not an invented one. Selections are true stories of real events experienced first hand, observed, or learned through study.  Students’ subjects may be about themselves, others, or things.  The selections may be written in traditional composition form, as a letter, a journal, diary entry, a memoir, or in dramatic form.

Length:

• Grades  K-2: 300 word maximum
• Grades  3-4: 400 word maximum
• Grades  5-6: 500 word maximum
• Grades  7–8: 750 word maximum

ESSAY – An essay is a piece of expository writing in any one of the traditional forms: comparison/contrast, persuasion, process, cause/effect, or definition.  The emphasis should be on a personal point of view about a topic of general interest.  Internal citations may be given for sources, but the essay should represent a researched paper as opposed to a research paper.

Length:  Selections should be written in multi-paragraph manuscript form and must not exceed more than 1000 words.

IMAGINATIVE WRITING – Imaginative writing invents a situation or story based on the writer’s imagination.  The writer may create a scene, situation, or character; predict what might happen under hypothetical circumstances; or use his/her creativity to solve a hypothetical problem.  The writer may use his/her knowledge of the world to bring a unique flair or flavor to the writing but is not bound by the constraints of reality.  Imaginative writing may contain elements of fantasy.

Length:  Selections should be written in multi-paragraph manuscript form and must not exceed more than 1000 words.

TO ENTER:

Please give all entries to your school’s Gifted Specialist or to your self-contained gifted teacher.  All entries are due by the end of the school day on Friday, March 12, 2010. One original and one copy are to be submitted for each entry. Each entry is required to have an entry form attached which should be obtained through your school’s Gifted Specialist or self-contained gifted teacher.  It is very important that all rules and directions be followed.

STUDENT ENTRY FORM

All participants are required to completely fill out and sign the Student Entry Form. Students who have not completely filled out the entry form will not be eligible to participate in the program. In situations where the child cannot fill out the entry form or write legibly, a parent may complete the form.

Students have the option of titling their works. If a work has a title, the title must be included on the Student Entry Form. If the work has no title, please write “Untitled”.

A link to the entry form will be posted soon.

NOTE: Enjoy the process!  This is a neat opportunity to see what you can do!

If you have questions or comments, speak with your school’s gifted specialist, post a comment below, or see additional contact information.