In a video invitation, Ginger Ragland, a Healthy NewsWorks staff teacher, shares details of the Healthy Writing Challenge.
January 2022 … Healthy NewsWorks invites teachers to submit student reflections and poetry in its 2022 Healthy Writing Challenge. The challenge focuses on the theme “How We Heal: Moving Ahead in Challenging Times.” Any elementary school or middle school classroom may participate.
UPDATE: The deadline for entering student work has been extended to March 25, 2022!
Use this form to submit student reflections or poetry.
Challenge Rules
Teachers: Share this Google form with your students! They should write their reflection or poem into the form and submit it. It will come directly to us. (Upon request, we can share your students’ work with you.) Each student should address only ONE of the following health messages about healing:
- Spending time in nature can help people heal. Describe a time when you spent time in nature and how it made you feel.
- Showing someone you understand them (empathy) can help people heal. Describe a time when you helped someone else feel better and how that made you feel.
- Finding ways to cope with challenging situations can help people heal. Describe how you have coped with a challenge in your life. Examples could be talking to someone, listening to music, or playing a sport. But there are many other ways to cope!
- Being a friend or making a new friend can help people heal. Describe a time when you were a good friend and how it helped you and your friend.
All student submissions will be considered for publication in:
- Their school’s health newspaper (if the school is part of the Healthy NewsWorks’ network)
- By Kids For Kids’ section of the Healthy NewsWorks website
- Healthy NewsWorks’ 2022 book, “How We Heal: Moving Ahead In Challenging Times”
Other requirements:
- Each entry needs to include the student’s name, age, school, and homeroom teacher.
- Entries should be submitted through this form
- If your students’ work is considered for publication, Healthy NewsWorks will contact you. Students will need a signed parent/guardian consent form on file in order to have their name published.
The challenge will include two groups of winners:
- Healthy NewsWorks schools: One teacher/classroom winner will be determined by a random drawing of participating classrooms in each building. Prizes: $50 gift card to one participating classroom teacher in each building. Plus, Healthy NewsWorks will provide a special classroom activity.
- Out-of-network schools: In a random drawing, two teachers from two classrooms in schools not currently in the Healthy NewsWorks’ network will be awarded a $50 gift card.
QUESTIONS? Please contact Ginger Ragland at gragland@healthynewsworks.org
