The 2008 Mary Readman Write On Contest is an opportunity for local youth to get involved in the newspaper industry and the contest deadline has been moved up to Friday, April 25 by 5 p.m. The contest has three categories for local youth to submit stories into the paper.
The Mary Readman Write On contest is hosted by the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association and the top local winner from each category will move on to the provincial contest.
Maurizia Hinse, the professional development and communication officer for AWNA, says that Readman was involved in the newspaper industry for over 50 years and really believed in encouraging youth and believed in young people writing.
“They are our readers of the future, especially now with websites the paper copy is still important for them to use and read,” said Hinse. “It’s a great contest, I would like to see it flourish some more. I’m really looking forward to see the entries from Ponoka.”
The Creative Classifieds category is for students in Grades 1 to 3. They will select a classified ad from the Ponoka News. Using their imagination students will write no more than 200 words to describe the story behind the ad, maybe the adventures of an old car or the history of a house for rent. They will be judged on originality, human interest, clarity, spelling and grammar. The classified must be included in the entry. Provincially there will be two winners who will each win $100.
In the Junior Reporter category students in Grades 4 to 6 will investigate any school related event asking teachers or parents questions, opinions and comments about the event. They will then write a report of no more than 200 words. They will be judged on how they gathered the facts, answering the five Ws of reporting-who, what, where, when and why, clarity, spelling and grammar. There will be one winner provincially winning $300.
The last category is the Write an Opinion category for students in Grades 7 to 12. In this category students have a chance to express their opinions on a local issue. They will choose an issue, which directly affects their community and they must research the topic, using the local paper and other sources of information. Based on their research they will write a 100 to 300-word letter to the editor on the issue. They will be judged on clarity of expression, knowledge of the topic, logical reasoning, original thought, spelling and grammar. Provincially there will be two winners each winning $500.
Locally there will be one winner from each category and each Ponoka winner will receive local prizes from sponsors, their article in the paper and their picture in the paper. Please include in your entries name, telephone number and address. If you have any questions regarding the contest please contact the Ponoka News at 403-783-3311 or via e-mail at editorial@ponokanews.com.