Arts & Humanities Contest Rules

• Each year, NIE asks students to illustrate a national or local theme. This year’s theme is “See me read…”• Artwork for this contest should be on plain, white paper measuring 8½ by 11 inches. Art may be in any medium except pencil (pencil is not strong enough to reproduce well in the newspaper — markers reproduce best). Art entries should be in color.

• Each entry must have a completed copy of the form above with uploaded artwork.

• Drawings will be judged by members of Standard-Examiner Design and NIE departments. They will select a first and second place winner in each of the following divisions:
K – 1st Grade
2nd – 3rd Grade
4th – 6th Grade

• Students will write a book review about a book they have read in the last year. The review must be the student’s own work. Children in first grade may ask a helper to take dictation.

• Each student should include his/her opinion of the reviewed book with reasons supporting the opinion (give specific reasons why he/she did or did not like the book). The article should contain the following elements:
Book title
Some book details
Student’s opinion of the book

• Entries should be typed or written neatly.

• Each entry must include the student’s full name (first and last), phone number, grade, school, and teacher’s name. If this information is not included, the entry will not be accepted.

• Students should be sure to keep a copy of their entry since those submitted become property of the Standard-Examiner and will not be returned.

• Each student will write a Personal Portrait — a feature story about a person in their family, school, neighborhood, etc. The person they choose to interview and write about should be unusual in some way, someone who has had a unique experience or has a unique hobby or job.

• Each entry should include several accurate, interesting quotes from the Personal Portrait subject. Students must plan questions and then interview the person. Students should remember that the best interview questions don’t allow a person to answer just yes or no. The quotes should be the foundation of the story.

• The first paragraph or two of each entry (called the lead) should give the reader a reason to keep reading and an idea of what makes the person being written about so interesting. Students should be sure it is clear who they are writing about and why. Avoid personal opinion and booster statements such as, “I think he’s great,” or, “I want to be a pilot, too.”

• Total length of the Personal Portrait should be approximately 400 words (or less). Entries may be typed or written neatly in dark ink.

• Each entry must include the student’s full name (first and last), phone number, grade, school, and teacher’s name. If not included, the entry will not be accepted.

• Each student may enter two photos in their grade category:
4th-6th Grade
7th-9th Grade
10th-12th Grade

• Each student may enter up to two photographs, (1 per category) in the following categories: People, Nature, Illustration. (Photos of people include portraits and candid shots; nature shots include landscapes, animals, etc. Illustration includes photos with special effects or obviously manipulated on a computer or in a darkroom, etc.)

• Entries should be the original work of the student and should not have been previously submitted to this contest.

• Unmounted 5×7 or 8×10 photos will be accepted. (Black and white or color photos are acceptable.) Slides and low resolution or poor quality prints from a computer will not be accepted.

• The Standard-Examiner Photography, Design and NIE Departments will select a first and second place winner in each grade category.