Entries for Child Month Essay and Poster Contests Extended to May 31

The National Child Month Committee (NCMC) has extended the deadline for the submission of entries for its 2010 poster and essay competitions to May 31.
The competitions, which the NCMC has partnered with the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) to yet again organise this year, form part of several activities to mark Child Month in May under the theme: ‘All I Want is a Chance to Grow Up’.
Speaking to JIS News, Head of the NCMC Poster and Essay Committee, Mrs. Sandrea Long-White, said that the extension is to allow for more students to participate.
She said that while interest in the competitions has been very high, this has not necessarily translated into the actual submission of many entries and is appealing for teachers and parents to encourage students to participate.
“We always want more students to participate annually and as such, the extension gives them another chance to participate and display their talents. We want as much children as possible involved in the competition,” she pointed out.
Outlining key elements of the essay competition, Mrs. Long-White explained that students will compete in four age categories with a different essay topic for each group. For the six to nine-year old group, entries will be guided by the topic: ‘Help Me to Be All I Can Be’, while the 10 to 12-year olds will write on the topic: ‘Just Give Me a Chance, I Can Be Anything’.
Entrants 13 to 15 years old will look at ‘Help Me Develop My Potential’ and the issue, ‘Motivate Me, Inspire Me, Lead Me,’ will be explored by the older students between 16 and 18 years.
All work should be submitted in the handwriting of the entrant and a completed entry form must accompany all entries. A panel of judges will assess all submissions based on adherence to the theme, originality of expression, creativity and penmanship.
For the poster contest, which runs concurrently with the essay competition, there are also four age categories: 6 to 7 years; 8 to10 years; 11 to 14 years and 15 to18 years. The poster should reflect how the entrant interprets the Child Month theme, and they can be guided by their understanding of the following topics: ‘Help Me to Be All I Can Be,’; ‘Just Give Me a Chance, I Can Be Anything,’ and ‘Motivate Me, Inspire Me, Lead Me’.
All work must be submitted on 9″x12″ to 11″x17″ cartridge paper, accompanied by a completed entry form. Entries will be judged on adherence to the theme, originality, creativity and visual effectiveness.
Telecommunications giant, LIME and GraceKennedy are sponsoring the competitions, which will offer attractive prizes including cash to category winners. In addition, Lecturer and Communications Consultant, Ms. Fae Ellington will award prizes for the best oral presentation of essays in each category.
All submissions must be sent to Mrs. Sandrea Long-White, Vice Chair of the NCMC, c/o Rural Services for Children with Disabilities, 94J Old Hope Road, Kingston, telephone 978-2092; and Vivienne DaCosta, c/o Dispute Resolution Foundation at 5 Camp Road, Kingston 4, telephone 908-3637.
The Child Month poster and essay competitions help to make the nation’s children more aware of their place in the family and society and for them to highlight the problems that are affecting their development. These competitions also allow them the opportunity to express how they themselves, their families and the society can assist in making positive changes.