Courts of Appeals and District Courts in Seventh and Eighth Circuits host 3rd Annual Bill of Rights Day Contest for students in grades 5-12

Admittedly, this runs a little far afield for FWIW fare, but the court sponsorships are the hook that makes this post relevant to FWIW readers.

We probably don't have too many students in grades 5-12 stopping by here on a regular basis, although surely some teachers do, and a number of FWIW readers have teachers in their lives with whom this post might be shared.

The idea is to get kids thinking about, and creating art and essays about, the importance of the Bill of Rights. That is a good and useful thing to do.

One grand prize winner from each of two age groups, grades 5-8 and grades 9-12, will recieve a $500 cash prize and the opportunity to take part in a vitrual event on Wednesday, December 7 with Federal judges and other experts, and have their name and submission shared on the websites of the participating United States District Courts. Semi-finalists from each District Court will receive a $50 prize.

The deadline for submissions is 5:00 p.m. Sunday, October 30.

Semi-finalists from each district will be notified before Thanksgiving and grand prize winners will be announced at the December 7 virtual event.

Teachers have an additional incentive to encourage their charges to enter this contest: When a teacher's name is included on the student's submission, the teacher will be entered into a gift card raffle. Teachers get additional chances in the raffle for each submission made by one of their students.

Of course there are a host of rules and regulations that contestants will have to navigate in order to make their submissions. But this page will provide that information for interested students and teachers.