COURIER L 28 IFE, JUNE 18-24, 2021
Sheepshead Bay
fi fth grader wins
handwriting contest
BY REYNA IWAMOTO
Write on!
Caitlyn Ngo, a student
at St. Edmund Elementary
School in Sheepshead
Bay, was selected
as the fi fth grade Grand
National Champion in
the 2021 Zaner-Bloser
National Handwriting
Contest.
Judged on her penmanship,
Ngo was among
eight other students
countrywide who have
been named the Grand
National Champions of
their respective grades.
As a Grand National
Champion, Ngo was recognized
for having the
best cursive handwriting
among all fi fth grade entries
from across the US
and received an engraved
trophy and a $500 check.
Ngo’s school received a
$1,000 Zaner-Bloser product
voucher and a certifi
cate of achievement,
while her teachers received
a handcrafted,
personalized certifi cate.
“It felt really exciting
and surprising to win,”
Ngo said.
After practicing for
the competition at home
and at school, Ngo said
that she was very proud of
herself and will save the
prize money for college.
Andrea D’Emic, principal
of St. Edmund Elementary
School was “excited
for Caitlyn, for our
teachers, for our school.”
“This is very exciting
and we are always proud
of our students’ accomplishment,”
D’Emic said.
Ngo’s mother Kimberly
told Brooklyn Paper
that she’s very proud
of her daughter and explained
that after kindergarten,
it was already
evident that Caitlyn had
neat handwriting.
“I think in the past
two years she has also
received several certifi -
cates from school for her
handwriting,” Ngo said.
“I am very proud of her.”
D’Emic said the school
incorporates handwriting
into their curriculum,
as cursive writing
is taught from kindergarten
through sixth grade.
Caitlyn Ngo. Zaner-Bloser
“Our goal is to provide
a comprehensive education
that includes the
varied aspects of what
they need to know to be
successful in future and
cursive writing is one of
these,” D’Emic said.
Zaner-Bloser, a publisher
of handwriting
and other literacy programs,
annually invites
students in kindergarten
through eighth grade
from across the country
to enter its national
handwriting contest to
encourage and recognize
outstanding penmanship
among students.
All participants are
required to write the
sentence, “The quick
brown fox jumps over
the lazy dog” because it
contains every letter of
the alphabet. The judges
select winners based on
Zaner-Bloser’s four keys
to legibility: the shape,
size, spacing and slant
of the letters. This year’s
contest was organized online,
receiving more than
70,000 student entries
from across the nation.
Celebrating its 30th
year, the Zaner-Bloser
National Handwriting
Contest is the longestrunning
handwriting
competition in the country.
“Our contest recognizes
handwriting as an
important component of
literacy education and
celebrates students for
their hard work and commitment
to excellence,”
said Lisa Carmona, president
of Zaner-Bloser.
SAMPLE