Eligibility
All students enrolled in Grades 1-12 from schools across the GTA are eligible to participate. All entries must be original work.
Literary Style
Students’ work may be in the form of poetry, play, fiction or non-fiction. Students should avoid summaries of historical or biographical information.
Please ensure that entry content is relevant to the topic each student selects.
Format
- English and Hebrew Entries from students in grades 4 and up must be submitted in Word format, single-spaced (no PDF entries, please)
- Limit work to a maximum of four pages
- Only students in Grades 1-3 may submit in handwritten form
- Please scan and submit handwritten entries in JPEG or PDF format
- Artwork is welcomed! Please colour scan and submit along with a written entry
Topics
1. Write a special thank you to all the doctors, nurses, teachers and others who are out helping others in this difficult time. Share a story about a time a doctor, nurse or teacher helped you.
2. It is the year 2080 and your grandchildren asked you about that time in 2020 when you and your family were isolating at home due to a global health crisis. What would you tell them? Did you enjoy spending time at home with your family? Did you miss your friends? What was it like going to school on a computer? Is there anything else you would want to share?
3. "All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors--in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver." – Mr. Rogers.
Write a story about someone who needed help, and how their neighbours helped.
4. You just won a contest to design the newest Jewish Community Centre. What does it look like? What kinds of activities, programs etc. will you include to help bring your community together? Why are these activities & programs important?
5. Jewish holidays are full of traditions, and spending time with our loved ones.
a. Share a memory from one of your favourite Jewish holiday experiences and traditions.
b. Write about a new, creative Jewish holiday tradition that you can introduce to your friends and family (don’t be afraid to think outside the box!).
6. This year is the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. When we learn about the Holocaust, we often say the words “Never Again”. What do these words mean to you?
7. Israel has been deemed ‘the Start-Up Nation’ for inventing things that help the world in areas of technology, medicine, environment and more. Imagine you are an Israeli inventor deigning the next big Israeli invention. What would you create? Write about how it will help the world.
