The Sacred Heart Knights of Columbus are working with Sacred Heart Academy to sponsor a council essay contest which is associated with the Knight’s Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest. The essay theme this year is “Evangelize Our Faith” The contest is open to all Catholic students from grade 8 – 12 in the Sacred Heart Parish area. Winners at our council level are submitted to higher levels for consideration. 2021/2022 International winners are available here. Our council competition has produced numerous state winners in prior years.
THEME
Explain how young Catholics can evangelize our faith to families and friends who have turned away from religion and encourage them to return to the Church and embrace the sacraments?
GOAL
The goal of the Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest is to give students an opportunity to define the role of a Catholic citizen in many different scenarios, and to strengthen the bond between the Knights of Columbus and local schools.
ELIGIBILITY
The Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest is open to all Catholic students – in public, private or parochial schools – in grades 8,9,10,11 and 12 during the current school year.
TIMELINE
September 12th – Contest Starts
November 7th – Entry Deadline
December 6th – Winners Receive Awards
December 23rd – Winners sent to next level competition
GUIDELINES
- Essays must reflect the assigned theme and be the student’s original work.
- Essays must be typed and be between 500 and 750 words in length.
- Essays must be typed on 8 1/2” X 11” paper, one sided, double spaced, with one-inch margins.
- The student’s name should appear only on the official Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest entry form, which must be stapled to the essay.
- All entries become the property of the Knights of Columbus and will not be returned.
JUDGING
Essays will be judged on a 100-point scoring system:
- 35 points: Content – How clearly is the topic examined?
- 30 points: Grammar – How well is the essay written with respect to sentence structure and paragraph construction?
- 35 points: Style – Does the essay show creativity, imagination and development of the topic in a logical and compelling style?
AWARDS
Council level awards will consist of Schuler’s gift cards and winners certificates.
The top three international level winners for each grade (8 – 12) will receive monetary awards: $300 for 1st place, and $100 each for 2 runners up in each grade level. Checks are accompanied by a framed certificate signed by the Supreme Knight.