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Five Canaan Cougars Win At State!

Congratulations to all the children that won

                                

                                                                               (PHOTOS PROVIDED)

 

It’s that time of year when students across the country sharpen their pencils and their handwriting skills to compete in the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. It is the most prestigious and recognized national handwriting contest in the country that offers students the opportunity to practice and perfect their handwriting with the potential to earn some serious bragging rights. Students in kindergarten through second grade compete in the manuscript (print) category, while students in grades three through eight compete in the cursive category. All students write the required sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” because it contains every letter of the alphabet. Judges select winners based on the shape, size, spacing and slant of their letters. 

Participating public and private schools choose a winner in each grade. School grade-level winners then compete against each other at the state level. Zaner-Bloser estimates that more than 2.48 million students have participated in the contest since its inception. 

This year's contest received approximately 80,000 entries, promoting good penmanship and celebrating handwriting. The contest not only recognizes the students’ achievements; it recognizes the teachers’ too. This year, Canaan Community Academy has 1 state level winner for manuscript and 4 state level winners for cursive handwriting. Canaan Community Academy (CCA) students Excel! Zaner Blouser has 9 state grade level winners. Canaan Community Academy is proud to announce that out of the nine state grade level winners  5 winners are Canaan Cougars.

CCA’s  state grade level winner in manuscript (print) is Miley Zapp from Ms. Aubrey’s kindergarten class. Miley is eligible to compete for the Grand National Champion title. CCA also has four cursive handwriting state grade level winners. The fourth grade winner is Aspen Kenworthy, a student in Mrs. Hutchinson’s class. Mrs. Fennig’s fifth grade class also has a state grade level winner, Eloise Fennig. Mrs. Watkins' class has a sixth grade winner, Ayden Sawyer and a seventh grade winner, Kirsten Johnson.

State grade level winners in each grade move on to the national competition, where they vie for the chance to be named the Grand National Champion. While the contest spotlights the art of handwriting, it also brings attention to the science behind learning and using cursive and manuscript. Research has shown a strong link between direct handwriting instruction and literacy skills. Prior to COVID-19 Canaan Cougars had been recognized with state level winners five consecutive years. This is the first year since the pandemic that CCA students were able to participate and they did not disappoint. Canaan Community Academy has five state grade level winners. Congratulations Cougars!! The state grade level winners will go on to compete for the Grand National Champion. Each Grand National Champion earns a large trophy, a cash prize, and educational materials for their school.

 Handwriting continues to be an integral part of Canaan Community Academy research based curriculum. CCA knows handwriting  helps  students cognition in ways typing/keyboarding cannot. Teaching handwriting (manuscript and cursive) improves students’ retention and comprehension, engaging their brains on a deeper level, letting them Explore, Experience, and Excel.

 

 

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