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Constitution Day
September 17, 2007
Essay Contest
 

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READ ABOUT THE CONTEST AND SEE THE 2007 ESSAY QUESTION! 

Congratulations to the Winners and Thank You for Participating!


Grades 5-8
Grades 9-12
   

STATEWIDE WINNER
Molly McPhee
Oyster River Middle School

STATEWIDE WINNER
Katelyn Henmueller
Nashua High School North
   
Finalists School Finalists School
       
Shannon Summers
Keene Middle School
Theresa Kiernan
Nashua Christian Academy
Ashutosh Rao
Fairgrounds Middle School, Nashua
Sarah Racicot
Winnisquam Regional High School
Breanna Dionne
Auburn Village School
Deanna Fennell
Spaulding High School
Samantha MacDonald
Gilford Middle School
Libby Tolman
Hanover High School
Chris Fino
Hillsborough-Deering Middle School
Molly Milazzo
Bow High School
Jonathan Goodnow
Three Rivers School, Pembroke
Cathy Tarushka
Timberlane Regional
       

 

The Supreme Court Justices with the 2007 Constitution Day Essay Contest finalists
(Photo courtesy of The Caledonian-Record)

 

Justice Duggan presents award to Hillsborough-Deering Middle School's Chris Fino
From left to right: Rosie Chaloux, Justice Duggan, Chris Fino, Melissa Spanos
(Photo courtesy of The Caledonian-Record)

 

Justice Duggan presents award to Hanover High School's Libby Tolman
From left to right: Rosie Chaloux, Justice Duggan, Libby Tolman, Ian Smith
(
Photo courtesy of The Caledonian-Record)

 

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick Jr. talks about the Constitution with Theresa Kiernan, right from Nashua Christian Academy and Brenna Dionne, of Aubrun Village School during the reception for finalists at the NH Supreme Court in Concord.
(Photo courtesy of Bob LaPree, New Hampshire Union Leader)


Constitution Day Essay Finalists look to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick Jr. during the reception.
(Photo courtesy of Bob LaPree, New Hampshire Union Leader)


 
Image: QuillIn 2004, the Congress decided that “Constitution Day” should be observed in schools each year on September 17 with educational programs about the history and signing of the Constitution. To help celebrate Constitution Day, seven New Hampshire newspapers, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court, have joined together to sponsor an annual "Constitution Day Essay Contest" for grades 5-12 on a topic related to our constitutional rights as citizens.

 Teachers and students take note! Here’s a fun way to work over some hard questions and learn a few things about the remarkable document that has governed our nation for 220 years. The winners will have their essays published in the participating newspapers and they will be invited, along with parents and teachers, to a special reception at the state Supreme Court.

  Web Resources for Writing About the Constitution

2007 ESSAY QUESTION

  The purpose of the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution is to protect the privacy and security of individuals against random searches by government officials. Do you think that the 4th amendment should apply to students at school?

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Contest Rules and Regulations

Eligibility:  All New Hampshire school students enrolled in grades 5-12.

Deadline for Submissions: Postmarked by October 5, 2007

 Rules:

            1. Each essay should be type written and no longer than 300 words. Submissions will be judged on understanding of the issue, clear writing and thinking, presentation, grammar and spelling.

            2.Each essay should be the sole product of the student’s work.

            3. Submissions should include the writer’s name, age, grade, school, home address, home telephone, parent e-mail address, teacher and teacher e-mail address. Winners will be notified by telephone.

            4. Employees of participating newspapers and immediate family members are not eligible to win.

            5. Entries will not be returned.

             Essays should be submitted to one of the participating newspapers listed below. Entries are limited to one per student. Each participating newspaper will select a winner from entries submitted for grades 5-8 and for grades 9-12.  A statewide winner for each group will then be selected by members of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

 2007 Participating Newspapers:  

The Laconia Citizen             New Hampshire Union Leader
The Citizen                                Teresa Robinson
C/O Jeff DeFrancesco
               c/o Union Leader
171 Fair St                                   
PO Box 9555
Laconia,  NH  03246                  Manchester, NH 03108

                                                           

The Keene Sentinel                The Concord Monitor
Harry Ahern                                 Ann-Marie Forrester
The Keene Sentinel                      Director of Marketing
PO Box 546                                     Concord Monitor
Keene NH 03431                           PO Box 1177
                                                         Concord, NH 03302-1177

  

Foster’s Daily Democrat      The Caledonian Record
C/O Jeff DeFrancesco            C/O Rosie Chaloux
The Laconia Citizen               
Educational Services Director
171 Fair Street                         The Caledonian-Record
Laconia, NH 03246
                P.O. Box 8, 190 Federal St.
                                                   St. Johnsbury, VT 05819


The Nashua Telegraph
 
c/o David Solomon
Executive Editor
Box 1008
Nashua, New Hampshire 03061

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Web Resources

Image: Quill

Bibliography of sources at the NH Law Library

http://nhlawlibrary.blogspot.com/2007/09/constitution-day-essay-announced.htm

Text of the US Constitution

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html

NH Department of Education

                    Constitution Day resources, programs and lesson plans for teachers

NHPTV Knowledge Network

Visit www.nhptv.org/kn/constitution for links to online classroom video on the U.S. Constitution, lesson plans, and reviewed websites. 

2007 Updates and information from The Bill of Rights Institute

New Hampshire Bar Association

Find more online resources about the U.S. Constitution

 Information from the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/constitutionday/display/MainS/Home

 Education Resources for use on Constitution Day

http://www.justicelearning.org/ConstitutionDay/index.asp

Guide to the Constitution and “civic education in the real world.”

http://www.justicelearning.org

Information on the US Constitution provided by the federal court system

http://www.uscourts.gov/outreach/resources/constitutionday.html

Bibliography of sources at the NH Law Library

http://nhlawlibrary.blogspot.com/2007/09/constitution-day-essay-announced.html

 

 

 

 

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