Avon, N.Y.: St. Agnes School participated in the 2018 Zaner-Bloser 27th Annual National Handwriting Contest. The school encourages excellence in all educational endeavors. Good penmanship is part of the course of study at the school. Children begin to practice cursive handwriting at the end of the Second Grade and further mastery is taught in the Third Grade. Beginning at the Fourth Grade level, students are expected to complete all written work in cursive. The Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest gives the students a chance to reflect upon their penmanship, and its importance to their educational experiences.
The contest, open to all students in Grades K-8 in the United States attracts over 300, 000 participants. Students in Grades K-2 submit manuscript (print) entries; students in Grades 3-8 submit cursive handwriting entries. The contest entries, both manuscript and cursive are judged according to the Zaner-Bloser Keys to Legibility: Shape, Size, Spacing and Slant. Winners of the contest are selected from both public and private school categories. State Grade Level Winners compete against each other to become one of the 18 National Grade-Level Semifinalists. The 18 National Grade-Level Semifinalists compete to be chosen as one of nine Grand National Grade Level Champions. In addition to these awards, Zaner-Bloser created the Nicholas Maxim Award to honor special needs students who excel in manuscript or cursive. This category is open to students with a cognitive, intellectual, physical, or developmental disability. Zaner Bloser awards cash prizes and educational materials to winner students, teachers and schools that participate in the Annual Contest. Last year, second grader Sophia Dowd of St. Agnes School was the State-Level Grade Level Winner.
This year the following students’ handwriting entry forms were submitted to Zaner-Bloser to be considered for the State Grade-Level Competition:
Grade 1- Zara Hopkins
Grade 2 – Lydia Kashorek (not pictured)
Grade 3 – Mary Davis
Grade 4- Thomas Schlueter
Grade 5 – Catherine Staley
Grade 6 – Angel Rangel-Garcia
St. Agnes School is proud to teach cursive writing to all of our students. “Cursive writing is more than just a ‘lost art form’. Cursive writing allows students an additional means to process language, improve fine motor skills, connect with older generations and engage with historical documents,” stated Principal Elizabeth Jensen. This is the 5th year that St. Agnes School has participated in the Zaner-Bloser Competition.
