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ELIGIBILITY:
All students in grades 6 through 12
attending school in Crawford, Dubois,
Orange, Perry, or Spencer County are
eligible to enter the 24th
Annual Writing Contest sponsored by the
Friends of Southern Hills and Southern
Hills Counseling Center. Students in
grades 6, 7, and 8 will participate in
the Middle School Division and
students in grades 9 through 12 will
compete in the High School Division.
SUBJECT:
In the last few years Social Media and
the internet has had a great impact on
this country’s school and work
environment. Social Media can include:
blogs and
microblogs (e.g.
Twitter),
content communities (e.g.
Youtube),
social networking sites (e.g.
Facebook),
virtual game worlds (e.g.
World of Warcraft),
and virtual social worlds (e.g.
Second Life).
Apart from the social benefits, social
networking sites can be used to document
school research, promote artistic
talents and experiment with other forms
of creativity. It provides a way to
interact with others who share the same
interests and to get constructive
feedback on ongoing projects.
Along with these benefits come some
risks. Most social networking sites are
open to all, which means that youth and
adults could be exposed to harassment,
bullying or identity theft.
Write a story describing a social media
experience, how it affected a student or
family, how the student or family
handled the event, and what they
learned. This story may be based on
either a positive or negative situation.
The story may be fictional or based on a
real life situation.
ENTRY FORMAT:
Entries must be at
least 400 words, typed, and no more than
4 pages in length; hand-written copies
will not be accepted. Each entry must
be accompanied by an Application and
Permission for Publication Form (click here for the
entry form). The Form may be
copied or additional Forms may be
obtained from the school principal or
teacher, the Southern Hills web site at
www.southernhills.org,
or the local Southern Hills office.
The Application and Permission for
Publication Form must be completed and
stapled to the entry. Do not
include your name on the pages of your
paper.
DEADLINE:
The deadline for submitting an entry to
this year’s contest is Friday, December
2, 2011. Student entries, stapled to
the completed Application and Permission
for Publication Form, may be given to
your teacher or school principal to be
sent to Southern Hills; or you mail it
directly to Marcy Leuck, Southern Hills
Counseling Center, P. O. Box 769,
Jasper, IN 47547-0769. Entries must be
received at the Jasper Southern Hills
office by Friday, December 2, 2011.
PRIZES:
Winners will be announced by April 1,
2012. A $250 first place prize and a
$125 second place prize will be awarded
in each Division with $50 Honorable
Mention Awards given for entries beyond
1st and 2nd place
which merit recognition. Prizes will be
awarded only if permission for
publication is given by the winner’s
parent or guardian (see the Application
and Permission for Publication Form).
The 1st and 2nd
place entries will be posted on the
Center’s web site. Additionally, if a
teacher has one or more Honorable
Mention Award winners, that teacher will
receive a $25 check for their
classroom. If they have 2nd
place winners they will receive $50 and
if they have first place winners they
will receive $100 for their classroom. |
