Zaner-Bloser, a company that produces handwriting and literacy resources, is known for its national handwriting competition. This year, it decided to launch a competition specifically for NYC students. Each participant will write a sentence in either print or cursive, depending on his/her age, with grades kindergarten-second focusing on manuscript and grades third-eighth competing in cursive. For children with special needs, there is a Nicholas Maxim award.
Entries will be judged by shape, sizing, spacing, and slant, according to Zaner-Bloser standards of legibility. The sentence for each entry, “the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” was chosen because it has all the letters in the English alphabet and thus gives judges the best gauge of what each contestant can do.
Studednts will first compete amongst their schoolmates, with one winner being selected per grade per school. From there, winners will compete against one another to see who has the best writing in the borough. Finalists can then move on to the state competition, advance the national finals. Grand Champions receive a prize of $500 and, of course, a trophy.
“Students and teachers all across the country look forward to entering our national contest every year and we are so excited to bring that enthusiasm to New York City schools,” said Lisa Carmona, president of Zaner-Bloser. “We’ve had two national contest winners from Long Island in previous years, but none from New York City. We are hoping 2019 brings us our first winner from one of the city’s five boroughs.”
To be eligble, students must use Zaner-Bloser handwriting or literacy materials. For more information, review the handwriting contest mail educator’s packet or the fast fact sheet. All entries are due by Feb. 14, 2019.
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