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Essay Competition FULL PARTICIPANT GUIDE | 2022 - Immerse ...

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Extra-curricular success at Immerse Education: Read the stories of 100% scholarship winners!

Immerse Education essay competition winners were awarded 100% scholarships to summer schools in Cambridge, Oxford, London and Sydney. The next round of free competition is open until 4th January 2023.

Back in 2021, 14-year-old Kornelia’s school in Poland invited her to take part in a competition hosted by Immerse Education. The rules were simple - write a 500 word essay, answering a subject-specific question set by the educational summer school company Immerse Education.

“I was so taken aback, I could not believe what I was seeing! On my way back from school I decided to open my emails, not expecting much in all honesty. Immerse’s name popped up and I stopped.”

Kornelia, quoted above, was one of ten students per year awarded a 100% fully-funded scholarship, and joined the Immerse Education programme in 2022.

When students are invited to take part in an essay competition, it can often feel as though they are putting a lot of effort in for something that may never happen. For scholarship winners like Kornelia, Pedro, Riya and Noor, this thought had also crossed their minds. It’s a lot of work, on top of school assignments, to make time to go through the process of writing a university-style essay.

Noor also won a 100% scholarship, attending the Law Academic Insights programme in 2022.

The essay that Noor wrote was in response to the question ‘What is an example of modern slavery?’. A sensitive and nuanced topic such as this one made Noor stop to think - making sure to create a carefully considered answer.

“I found out about the essay competition through my school in Pakistan. When I read about the prizes that participants could win I was surprised. The essay prompts for all the subjects were genuinely fascinating and thought provoking, which made me want to write an essay even if I didn’t win.”

Essay writing is a skill which, like any other skill, needs to be practiced and developed over time. Critical thinking and constructing persuasive arguments which are also backed up with water-tight research is a skill that many students struggle to master, making this free-to-enter competition a fantastic way to develop essay writing skills outside of school.

We spoke to a member of the Immerse Education essay competition team about how they choose the winning essays.

“We receive thousands of competition entries every year from students all over the world. Marked anonymously by our panel of expert tutors, each essay is given careful consideration, and a score based on impact and clarity amongst a variety of other aspects that make an excellent essay. We’re thrilled to be able to give this opportunity to everyone, and it’s great to meet the scholarship winners when they attend the programme of their choice in the summer”

The essay competition is running again in 2022 and 2023, and is open to all students, from anywhere in the world. The competition offers the opportunity for students to practice their essay-writing skills, with essay questions on over 25 topics. Although the 100% scholarship prize is only awarded to 10 winners, Immerse Education also awards runners-up with partial scholarships of up to 50% off their summer school.

You can read both Noor’s and Kornelia’s story and a selection of other 100% scholarship winners here .

Learn more about the Immerse Education Essay Competition here . The current competition closes on the 4th of January 2023.

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School News

2021 Immerse Education Essay Competition

We recently received the news that two Chengelo students won awards in the January round of the 2021 Immerse Education Essay Competition . The competition offers applicants the opportunity to win full or partial scholarships to participate on the Immerse summer programme at Cambridge or Oxford Universities. For more information visit their website: https://www.immerse.education/essay-competition/

Students Sesame Moetse and Mulambo Mwambu Haimbe were both awarded 10% scholarships for their essays! Our congratulations to both students for their hard work! You can read their award-winning essays below:

Justice, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the vigorous administration of what is considered just; fair. The above definition is the standard definition of justice; however, the question being posed is what does justice mean. The answer is justice means to uphold what others think is fair, justice is a dependent ideal. An excellent example to further iterate my point is the application of Jedburgh justice in early Scotland. Clearly those aware of the basic principles of Jedburgh justice compare it to lynch law, the persecution and execution of suspects without a free and fair trial, however residents of Scotland who may have lived under Jedburgh law see it as just, simply because their principles agree with the application of Jedburgh law. Another example would be popular justice, the application of justice according to popular beliefs and popular assumptions of guilt. To say that justice is not based on personal principles and is simply a dependent form of ethics, dependent on the views of a specific society or group of peoples, is inappropriate considering that popular justice and Jedburgh justice are still considered forms of justice. For the sake of this publication a survey was conducted amongst a group of year nine pupils and the vast majority all agreed that justice is the fair and impartial treatment of someone.

However, those statements can be brought to question by recent events in the year two-thousand-twenty. The violent murder of George Floyd, which sparked widespread protest across various states in The United States of America, would be considered justice by the police officers on the scene in accordance with Floyd’s alleged resist of arrest and possession of counterfeit money. Obviously what happened to Mr. Floyd was not justice especially in the eyes of the public but it was considered just action by the officers and the police department who only dismissed the officers after great outrage in the city of Minneapolis. Breonna Taylor, another African-American, was killed in the comfort of her home by police officers. Another tragic example as to why justice is a dependent ideal.

Police simply barged into Miss Taylor’s home and shot her. The police used their powers that were vested in them to withhold justice, to withhold their own form of justice because they saw Breonna Taylor as a suspect.

Even in the legal system justice is completely dependent on the judgement of a judge, the attractiveness of an attorney’s arguments when faced with a trial requiring a jury, the personal biases of a jury and the decisions they will make determining someone else’s future. Does it sound fair and impartial to have a privileged, comfortable jury sit and judge an underprivileged and misunderstood black teenager with a history of thuggery?

In conclusion justice may have a root definition but it is dependent on several factors such as biases and personal views. Justice is simply an ideal that has standards that cannot be upheld stringently as a result of differing opinions and mind-sets.

References: Black’s law dictionary. Dictionary.cambridge.org Independent.co.uk Merriam-webster.com

I have heard many explanations of what justice means by many different people. For me as a 15 year old girl truly justice is the search for peace by making sure that everyone’s individual rights matter and everyone is treated fairly. The world will be a better place to grow in when the color of your skin, your sexuality or where you come from are not the reason why you are treated differently. It is not justice to judge people on the basis of things over which they have no control such as place of birth, skin color, sexuality or even religious beliefs.

Nevertheless, all over the world today many people are denied equality and justice for such reasons. One case is that Elijah McClain in the United States. He was a 23-year-old black male walking home from a convenience store when someone called the police, claiming that Elijah “looked sketchy’’. When they arrived the police placed him under arrest. Elijah tried to assert his rights by resisting arrest, but the police forced him to the ground and restrained him with a chokehold (which is banned). Later when they realized that Elijah had stopped breathing, they called the Paramedics to the scene who rushed him to hospital. He died four days later.

Cases like that of Elijah McClain is an example of the kind of injustice that should be stopped all over the world. He was accused, judged and condemned on the basis of his skin colour. It could as easily have been on the basis of his gender, place of origin or religious beliefs. Placing somebody under arrest and restraining him with a chokehold that results in his death just for appearing “sketchy,” is in my view justice betrayed by the officers who should protect it. The fact that the police officers don’t go on to face any charges is not justice either.

There are some general ideas about justice that I learn from the case. Firstly, every human being has a right to a fair trial. He got none. Secondly, no person should walk home fearful of being arrested just because someone does not like the way he or she looks. Thirdly, everybody is equal before the law and must be treated the same way. Lastly, human beings feel a sense of pride, peaceful closure

and secure when justice is served. The satisfaction we get is not from the pleasure of seeing the culprit suffer, but the assurance that we live in a society in which human life, peace and harmony are sacred, as Rachel Dawes says, “Justice is about harmony, revenge is about making yourself feel better”.

To me justice means creating a world where people live in peace with each other, knowing that wrong will be punished or corrected and that you don’t have to be rich or in a position of power to be treated fairly. Justice makes our world a better a place for children to grow in.

2  Comments

I can see an upcoming lawyer and a human activist in these two essays.

Exceptional writing. Can’t wait to read your first books.

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Immerse Education Essay Competition

September 22, 2021

Immerse Education Essay Competition: Win a full scholarship to the Immerse Summer School in Oxford, Cambridge, London or Online! The Immerse Education Essay Competition offers students the opportunity to win a 100% scholarship for one of Immerse Education’s award-winning residential or online academic programmes (further information below). In the last round of the Essay competition, there were 10 full scholarship winners and 300 shortlisted partial scholarship winners selected from over 4000 entries. Students aged 13-18 are required to submit essay responses to a pre-set question relating to their chosen subject and age group. From  Medicine, Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, Creative Writing, English Literature, and many more subjects , there is a category for every area of interest. The competition is a great way to practice your academic writing skills and previous scholarship winners have referenced their success in the Essay Competition on their university application to the world’s top universities. For further guidance and to enter, visit  https://www.immerse.education/essay-competition/   (Deadline for entry: 5th January 2022)

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Immerse Education 2020 Essay Competition Success

The Immerse Education Essay Competition offered students from around the world the opportunity to benefit from their award-winning academic programmes. Muhammad's essay has been selected to receive a partial scholarship to attend the Immerse Education academic summer programmes in 2020, held in Cambridge University colleges in the UK. 

Read his winning article below:

24° 28' N 54° 20' E

This was the current location of Admiral Clay on the large yet jagged planet of Breccia.

Stationed with a small band of ten infantry soldiers and a set of military equipment, Clay was tasked with defending one of Breccia’s many cadmium deposits from the dreaded interstellar empire: the Eartheners. Legend states that this ferocious empire can traverse between galaxies in months and construct Dyson Spheres in mere weeks. Breccia was their next target. Breccia was forced to divide their current active military the best they can, equating to only a handful of units for every significant ore deposit and mineral reserves. However, this would only slow down the inevitable.

“Any news, Admiral?” asked Lieutenant Ebsworth, Clay's second in command.

“The Eartheners have conquered our neighbouring planet, Diorite. Luckily, all of the researches stationed there have been evacuated. It is expected that they will construct a skyhook by evening and launch an attack at midnight,” replied Clay.

“And what are the government doing?”

“We have a plan.”

Sure enough, a large rod of metal was orbiting Diorite: a skyhook. This invention can launch hundreds of non-lightspeed spacecraft within a day. Unbeknownst to the Eartheners, Breccia had been anticipating this for a long time. Despite their lack of exploration beyond their own solar system, they have developed heat-seeking missiles that can travel up to a parsec’s distance. Across the Breccian horizon, Clay and Ebsworth observed an immense exertion of smoke, followed by the launch of thousands of missiles into the atmosphere. Eager yet anxious, Clay and Ebsworth watched the event unfold through their portable telescope.

What followed was a brilliant explosion of white, rapidly dismantling both the Earthen base and the now non-existent planet. Rejoice and triumph erupted all over Breccia. But then, silence.

From beneath the smoky remains of Diorite emerged a single entity: an Earthen Dreadnaught. Capable of storing a million colonists and having the fire power off a white dwarf, the fear that it induced to poor Breccia was understandable.

Admiral Clay and his squadron lay down in shame. Even though the battle wasn’t lost on their behalf, they felt responsible and embarrassed for the planet's flimsy defenses. Through the government communication intercom, several voices were frantically arguing on what orders to give to each squadron. Alas, it was no use – the fate of Breccia had been decided.

Over the coming days, Breccia descended into a state of despair. While some fought with resistance, attempting to destroy the Megalodon with only a handful of puny jets, most did otherwise. The government decided to destroy all valuable resources in the planet, even bombing the very cadmium deposit that Clay and his squadron was tasked to protect just a few moments prior.

Of the ten members of the squadron, only one was killed during the onslaught. That, of course, was Admiral Clay himself, who sacrificed his future so that Ebsworth and his comrades could escape with the Breccian evacuation operation. At last, the Eartheners celebrated yet another successful expansion of their interplanetary empire, but little did they know, the war hadn't yet ended; Breccia will live to fight another day.

Muhammad, Year 10

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Immerse Education Essay Winner

February 1, 2022.

Praanjal Singh Sinver, a student of Grade 9, brought laurels to our school by winning a 20% scholarship for summer programs at Oxford, Cambridge and LSE through the Immerse Education Essay Competition.

The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides students aged between 13 and 18 with the opportunity to submit essays related to their chosen subject. Praanjal presented her essay on ‘Female Future Leaders’ where she expressed her thoughts on the challenges faced by today’s women in leadership roles.

Praanjal’s essay stood out amongst the other entries by bringing forward well formulated and clearly expressed thoughts on her chosen subject. We are proud of your achievement, Praanjal. Best of luck for all future endeavours!

SUBJECT: Female Future Leaders

TOPIC: What are the challenges faced by  today’s women in leadership roles?

For centuries, the woman has been relegated to posts such as being a ‘housewife’, a ‘caretaker’ of the  family and she has never been treated as somebody in the field of action in the real world, where she  does the same laborious jobs as males and gets the due credit. But, over the years evolution happened,  societies became broad-minded and today women are gaining prominence in the world of leadership,  such as entrepreneurship, political leadership, sports team leader etc.

When we move forward with the times, gender discrimination has not left the society, which prevails  to be one of the most pressing challenges faced by women today in leadership roles, women have been  in leadership positions for a long time but they are yet to get their due credit, male employees believe  that women lack the “authority” or the “assertiveness” to take on an extremely important responsibility;  certain studies show that the people from all countries are still not quite comfortable with women  leading and they choose to spread hate and defame them, with the simple reason being that sexism and  male chauvinism brought this out of them. These reasons are at the basis of the issues that have arisen  for female leaders, and while many are aware that they are biased, they refuse to acknowledge  it. Another problem that arises for women leaders is the management of many roles. Women are more  likely than men to leave their jobs to raise families; It shouldn’t be a choice between a child and a career; it is difficult for a woman to reclaim power and influence as a leader once she has been out of the  workforce for a spell.

According to a recent study, even in countries with lengthy histories of female leadership much of the  public remains adamantly opposed to the idea of women in power. The Reykjavik Index 1 measures female leadership views of the G7 countries and others during 2020 to 2021, the survey had Its recent  poll consisting of over 20,000 adults and yielded some unexpected and disappointing results; the survey  revealed that only 38% of the people were open to the idea of having a woman as the head of a  government or the CEO of a company. Despite Angela Merkel’s long tenure as a chancellor, only 41%  of Germans indicated they felt comfortable having a woman at the helm of government. Maia Sandu  made history by becoming Moldova’s first female president, Kamala Harris became the first woman  Vice President of USA; though they reached their dream positions they were no exception and had gone  through the immense struggle.

Despite the reality that these circumstances will persist and torment, women must be applauded for their  indomitable spirit to prove themselves in different roles, our past culture has a significant impact on our  present societal values, there is a gradual change in men’s perception of women and I am sure gender  disparity will fade away soon and many more miracles can be experienced by women.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• BBC. Equality matters/how we work, Why do we still distrust women leaders by Christine Ro. 2021. 15 Jan 2021.

[https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210108-why-do-we-still-distrust-women-leaders / last accessed: 1 st Jan 2022]

• Catalyst. Workplaces that work for women, 10 Big Issues Women Face at Work and What Leaders Can Do to Help (Blog Post). 2017. 19 Jan 2017.

[https://www.catalyst.org/2017/01/19/10-big-issues-women-face-at-work-and-what leaders-can-do-to-help/ last accessed: 23 rd December 2021]

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Is it worth entering the immerse education essay competition?

I’m transitioning into y12 next year n was wondering if it’s worth entering the competition, the prizes don’t really appeal to me as it seems kinda unrealistic to win and get a scholarship but is it worth doing it anyway?

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UM Students Post Strong Showing in National Russian Essay Contest

Director of um russian language program provides encouragement, guidance.

OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi students won medals in the 2018 American Council of Teachers of Russian essay contest for college students, placing among the top in the field of nearly 1,300 essays from 60 schools across the country.  

The National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest, which was established in 1999, has become a signature Russian language contest for students taking Russian at colleges and universities around the country. Three judges in Moscow read each essay and independently ranked them. Four UM students were recognized. 

The UM students worked very hard and produced some excellent essays, said Valentina Iepuri, UM assistant professor of modern languages and director of the Russian language program.

“I’m really proud of them,” Iepuri said. “I was moved to tears by their work.”

In Category C, Level 4, Nika Arkhipova, a senior nutrition and dietetics major from Moscow, won a silver medal for her essay on her hometown, which mentioned the music she grew up hearing, including the songs “Moscow Nights” and “Golden City.” She also won a silver medal in the same category last year, which is for native Russian speakers.   

“I tried to write about everything I like about it, including some historical facts about it, and some architectural and other information related to the city,” Arkhipova said. “I mentioned (a) couple of songs I grew up listening to about Moscow.” 

Amy Cain, a junior political science major from Southaven, won a bronze medal in Category A, Level 2, for her essay on living in Memphis, Tennessee, and spending her summers in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She said the Russian professors at UM did a great job of preparing her and other students for the challenging contest.

“I sent in an essay last year as well, but I guess that does not make the task any less intimidating the second time around,” Cain said. “It’s a whole different experience from writing class assignments with a textbook and dictionary open. While the topic is broad, the hardest part is narrowing down the topic to something you actually know how to articulate in Russian.”  

Philip Ouyang, a sophomore chemistry major from Kunming, Yunnan, China, received an honorable mention for his essay about the Chinese city he was born in, including information about the lifestyles, climate and the seagulls that migrate there from Siberia during the winters. 

“I am interested in Russian language and have been to Russia once when I was in junior high school,” Ouyang said. “Writing the essay to me is like recalling the precious journey. As a newbie for Russian, of course, I don’t have enough vocabulary to depict the scenes, and Dr. Iepuri helped me (with) a few words and cases as well, which is pretty helpful for memorizing commonly used phrases.”

Olivia Myers, a sophomore international studies major from Baton Rouge, also received an honorable mention in the same category as Ouyang. She wrote about UM and also her Louisiana hometown, but also how she wants to live in St. Petersburg someday. She said she was nervous, but it all came together nicely, thanks to the preparation with Iepuri.

“The experience of taking on this essay reassured me that Russian is a passion that I want to continue,” Myers said. “I love how learning a language never ends, and I plan to use Russian in my daily life not only in school but also for my future career.”

Daniel E. O’Sullivan, chair of modern languages and professor of French, said the strong showing isn’t surprising. 

“Every year, Dr. Valentina Iepuri encourages several of her students to enter into the Russian essay contest, and every year, one or more of her students place in the competition,” O’Sullivan said. “It is a testament to her dedication as a teacher and to the hard work of her students.”

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OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi is building a new mechanical plant north of Kinard Hall to support chilled and hot water demand for heating and cooling in that area of campus. The new facility will provide additional capacity to support new facilities for housing and academics, said Chad Hunter, associate university architect. The Read the story …

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New scholarship encourages language immersion.

OXFORD, Miss. – Michael Metcalf devoted much of his three-decade career to promoting foreign language and culture studies. Now, he is ensuring that University of Mississippi students have opportunities to achieve high levels of language proficiency by studying abroad.  The former executive director of the university’s Croft Institute for International Studies has contributed $200,000 to Read the story …

University World News: Artificial Intelligence Tools Offer Opportunities for Educators

ChatGPT in evaluation – An opportunity for greater creativity?   By Natalie Simon As debate rages over the possibilities and risks to higher education of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, evaluators are also asking what role AI and machine learning can play in their field. Speaking at a virtual symposium hosted by the Centre for Research Read the story …

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• Why is it important for vets to understand animal behaviour?
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December 13, 1999 ARTS ABROAD Essay Winner From Moscow, With Time on Her Hands By ALAN RIDING ARIS -- An international essay contest announced two years ago in Weimar, Germany, may have seemed like a brave effort to revive a revered 18th-century tradition. But it turned out that essay writers around the world were just waiting for the call. When the deadline for submissions came a year ago, 2,481 writers from 123 countries had presented lengthy papers on the millennial theme: "Liberating the Past From the Future? Liberating the Future From the Past?" Pawel Kassin Iveta Gerasimchuk, 20, won first prize in an international essay contest in Weimar. Last weekend's announcement of the results of the competition brought yet another surprise. It was not a German philosophy professor with time on his hands who won the 50,000-mark ($26,300) first prize. It was Iveta Gerasimchuk, a 20-year-old student from Moscow, whose essay, "Dictionary of Winds," was first chosen from among 306 Russian-language submissions and was then picked by a seven-member jury from among 43 finalists. The competition was organized by a committee called Weimar 1999 and Lettre International, a European literary magazine, to celebrate Weimar's selection as the European Cultural Capital for 1999. The simple idea nonetheless involved mobilizing an army of intellectuals (113 of them proposed topics for the essay), jury members for each of the seven language groups (German, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic), translators and a final jury. Of the 2,481 essays submitted, 2,203 met the criteria for the competition. All were then given numbers, with the identity of each author revealed only after the results were in. Most papers came from Germany (630), with Russia (232) and the United States (228) some distance behind. France (115) also showed interest, followed by Japan (91), Switzerland (60), Spain (55) and Argentina (54). Still, it is hard to know whether these numbers reflect intellectual standards or simply greater awareness of the existence of the competition. CHASING ANSWERS TO TIMELESS QUESTIONS Here is an excerpt from the introduction to Iveta Gerasimchuk's prize-winning essay, "Dictionary of Winds," in an international essay contest in Weimar, Germany, built around the topic "Liberating the Past From the Future? Liberating the Future From the Past?" The ancients understood that it is impossible to separate one day from the next, one year from the next. It is impossible to liberate the past from the future, and the future from the past, in the same way that it is impossible to liberate the right hand from the left and the left from the right. And herein lies the highest idea of the Lord. To divide time meant to destroy it, as Zeno of Elea demonstrated in the very same chase after answers to the unresolved questions. However, Zeno of Elea was only one of many. In any human society there are always people inclined to undertake a similar vivisection of time. Thank God that they have never managed to do so successfully. Some, having armed themselves with Homer's lotus-eaters, strive to "liberate" the future from the past. The "Dictionary of Winds" refers to them as "anemophiles." They firmly believe that time is infinite, and they are not interested in how much of it has already passed; after all, there is no limit to infinity and there is no limit to the changes of the world in it. Others value time as higher than everything else, or they believe that it is a gift of God and to waste it thoughtlessly is the greatest sin. The "Dictionary of Winds" refers to them as "chronists." Chronists are not sure of the future, nor are they sure that time is infinite. However, they are sure of the past, and hence strive even more to liberate the past from the future, which brings changes. Anemophiles and chronists live together -- in the real world and in the world of the "Dictionary of Winds," in each of us. They love, suffer, pursue scholarly and other research, conduct incessant arguments among themselves; in some there are no vanquished or victors -- they all seek answers to the very same questions posed so very long ago, sensing intuitively that these answers exist. And they find them -- sooner or later. Often, what they find does not satisfy them. They doubt and search again. Perhaps unexpectedly, given Germany's philosophical tradition, no Germans were among the 10 award winners, who included four Americans, two Russians, two Chinese, one Yugoslav and one Frenchman. All 10 were given scholarships to study for six months in Germany, while three runners-up were also given monetary prizes: 30,000 marks ($15,800) went to Louis E. Wolcher, professor of law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle, for his essay, "Time's Language"; and 20,000 marks ($10,500) were shared by Velimir Curgus Kazimir, a Yugoslav writer, and Christophe Wall-Romana, a Paris-born American poet and essayist. Ms. Gerasimchuk, who was not only the youngest but also the only woman among the top 10 essayists, won several writing contests while attending school in her hometown, Samara, 600 miles southeast of Moscow. A 1996 contest earned her a place in Moscow's prestigious State University of International Relations, where she specializes in South Africa (she learned both English and Afrikaans) and international environmental policy. She has also been invited to join a research team at the Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Her winning 49-page essay is an intellectual tour de force in which, by defining 61 words listed alphabetically, she meditates on time through prisms of philosophy, mythology, history, science, mathematics and literature. More specifically, she divides interpreters of time between "anemophiles" -- literally, lovers of wind -- who believe time is infinite and have no interest in the past, and "chronists," who believe time is a gift that should not be wasted and are sure only of the past. Ms. Gerasimchuk herself, though, suggests mischievously that both are wrong.

Latah County Human Rights Task Force

Strengthening the bonds of community to embrace diversity and reject bigotry..

2024 Art and Essay Contest Winners

2023-2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Art & Essay Contest –

Latah County Human Rights Task Force Theme: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OUR LIBRARIES        

ART WINNERS

Grades 1-3 Art Topic: Draw a picture about a book that has taught you something important.

Cordelia Haley – Megan Cueller’s 2 nd grade class- Lena Whitmore.     

            After listening to her teacher read books about Martin Luther King, Jr., Cordelia drew a picture of two people, one holding up a sign that says “Justice,” the other holding up a sign that says, “We Want Jobs.”                                                                                         

Cece Rose Ristene – Peggy Quesnell’s [K’nell] 2 nd grade class – St. Mary’s.                                          Cece read a book about a dog who helps other animals. It taught her that being a friend is fun and that being nice is important.

Eduarda Gurge – Jessica Jones’ 3 rd grade art class – Moscow Charter.                          Eduarda drew “The Great Kapak Tree” with animals in its branches and a rainbow on top. Eduarda learned about the rain forest.

Grades 4-5 Art Topic: Create a drawing or poster celebrating an aspect of the library that you value most.

Quinten Rowley – Jessica Jones’ 4 th grade art class – Moscow Charter.                        Quinten drew a boy enjoying the Latah County Library because it offers “So Many Choices!”

Haylee Cohee – Jessica Jones’ 5 th grade art class – Moscow Charter.                                        Hayley drew “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and shelves of books. She included quotes like “When in doubt, go to the library” by J.K. Rowling and “The library is a wilderness of books” by Henry David Thoreau.

EXCERPTS FROM WINNING ESSAYS

Grades 1-3: Essay Topic: Write a paragraph about a book from your school or public library that taught you something important .

Cordelia Haley – Megan Cuellar’s 2 nd grade class – Lena Whitmore “What I learned from books about Martin Luther King. Stand up for what you believe no matter what. Don’t fight with fists, fight with words. No matter what time it is, there’s always work to do!”

Leo Johnson – Sophia Curet’s 3 rd grade class -St. Mary’s Elementary “In the story “Being Frank” by Donna Earnhardt I learned that you should always tell the truth but say it nicely. In this story Frank says the truth but he says it in an unkind way. His grandpa shows him how to tell the truth in a nice way. I really enjoyed this book because it’s a really fun story and it teaches you a good lesson.”

Grades 4-5 Essay Topic: Write a three paragraph thank-you letter to your school or public library discussing an aspect of the library that you value most .

Fern Newlan – Shannon Nierman’s 4 th grade class – St Mary’s

“People who have libraries sometimes overlook the information they provide…. Here are a few things that libraries provide: books, computers and most importantly knowledge. I’m going to thank the people who write the books.” Among others, she thanks author Barbra O’Conner who “relates to the real world. She shows us that not everything is perfect, but you might find you were supposed to be here all along.”

Catherine Apt – Wes Bascom’s 4 th grade class – McDonald Elementary

“At a young age, Storytime encouraged my interest in reading and helped develop my creativity. It allowed me to be more open minded about different ideas and pushed me to be a creative thinker.” “I have discovered new books by browsing, which has allowed me to find some of my new favorite books. Thank you for having such a fun variety of materials and activities for me to experience throughout my childhood.”

Amy Zhou – Kathryn Bonzo’s 4 th grade class – Moscow Charter School

“Libraries want humans and our civilization to have openness for all to be educated and also give us freedom to read, write, and listen which is essential to our democracy.” “The thing I value most about the library is the huge selection of books. I love reading and the library has books for me to read. Thank you for being a generous provider.

Naya Lee – Jordyn Rauer’s 5 th grade class – Lena Whitmore

“My favorite subject is reading, so our school library is very important to me. I love that all students have a wide selection of books to choose from, so that they can all find something that they love.” “I am so glad to have our librarian, Mrs. Marone and her library so that all the kids in our school can have free and easy access to wonderful books.”

Emily Scout Heward – Kate Roll’s 5 th grade class– Lena Whitmore

“I’m little but I’m old enough to know that our library is AWESOME, BEAUTFUL, WONDERFUL, CREATIVE, CALMING and so much more. If we don’t have libraries, we might not have books! When I’m 80 I want to be able to visit our library and show many more generations this wonderful creation.”

FACT TIME! Did you know that the library of congress is the largest library in the world! They have 167 million items on 838 miles of bookshelves!!”

Grades 6-8 Essay Topic: Write a five-paragraph essay explaining why freedom of expression is important to your library and to our democracy.

Nora Algarni – Tiffany Scripter’s 7 th grade English class – Moscow Middle School

“If a student reads a book, they might get an opinion on something that could change the future. A book could change a whole generation, and it could change the whole world. So, limiting students from the access of information is not the best option. Let teenagers explore the libraries and have their opinion and thoughts… This is why freedom of expression should be important everywhere because everyone should express themselves and share their opinions with the world.”

Lillian Camin – Tiffany Scripter’s 7 th grade English class – Moscow Middle School –

“Freedom of expression can be very important to both school and public libraries as well. According to the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights, all library resources have to be provided and given to establish interests, and to give enlightenment and information to everyone.” “ I believe that freedom of expression is important for democracies. I think this because of the sharing of ideas and open opinions that help democracies run. One of these reasons is that we have to gain opinions to make decisions and we have to make decisions if we want to govern ourselves.”

Grades 9-12 Essay Topic: Research the current debate over the freedom of expression in school and public libraries. Write a report on this debate, then draw your own conclusions.

Morgan Apt – Rachel Lyons’ Junior Advanced Placement class – Moscow High School –” I believe that the removal of books and censorship in public libraries is drastic and unnecessary. Allowing children to have access to information that is not age appropriate is not ideal. However, violating people’s rights to access material containing any type of perspective or idea is too extreme a measure to prevent children from exposure to harmful information. Additionally, the government could use the removal of inappropriate books to their advantage, disposing not only of books that could be damaging to children, but books that don’t align with certain personal or political beliefs. …. Freedom of expression is heavily valued in a democracy, and literature is a prime example of where differing perspectives and viewpoints are shared…. as allowed under the First Amendment. “