Frassati Catholic Academy 6th Grader Wins First Round in DAR Essay Contest
Kate H., sixth grade student at Frassati Catholic Academy in Wauconda, participated in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Essay Contest. This contest was established to encourage young people to think creatively about our nation's great history and learn about history in a new light.
The contest is open to students in public, private, and parochial schools. Students in grades five through eight are encouraged to participate. Each year, a topic is announced and contest instructions are communicated to schools. Essays are judged for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness. The 2017-2018 essay topic was World War I (WWI): Remembering the War to End All Wars. Each year Mr. Lesinski, Frassati Catholic Academy, Social Studies teacher, introduces the essay topic to his sixth through eighth grade classes and has the students draft essays.
Mr. Lesinski said, "We enter the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest every year and have had much success. This year the winner is a sibling of a previous winner. In 2016, Kate's brother Chris won the essay contest as a graduating eight grader."
Frassati Catholic Academy middle school students look forward to the opportunity to submit their essays each year in hopes of becoming a winner. They take researching the history and writing their essays very seriously. Mr. Lesinski shared, "I read 87 essays at the start of December", all of which he said included some amazing insights and interesting facts.
After learning of the topic, Kate used her imagination to draw on what life would be like for her and her family if her older brother had been drafted for WWI. She spent time researching how WWI affected women, children, siblings, and loved ones who lost a family member in the war. She wrote her essay from a fictional standpoint and shared "she had fun writing her [winning] essay."
Kate researched the history of WWI and enjoyed using her imagination to place herself and her family back during the time for the war. It really made her think about how challenging life was for people and families during that time. She took a particular interest in the impact the war played on woman and the economy.
Kate's essay was submitted on Friday, November 10th, 2017. Participating chapters send one winning essay from each of the four grades for judging on the state level. The state selects one winning essay to send to the divisional level. The winning essay from each of the four grades will then be judged on the national level and the winners are announced.
Kate's essay won the area chapter competition. She then won the divisional - District IV competition and will progress to be recognized for national selections taking place in the spring. Kate is preparing to read her essay aloud among a group of other winners and judges at a special luncheon for divisional winning candidates. She is excited about having the opportunity to read her essay and to attend all the ceremonies. She feels truly honored. When asked if she was nervous or anxious she said, "Not really. [Because] I know what to expect since we went through it with my brother."
Each student participant receives a certificate of participation from the chapter and the chapter winners receive bronze medals and certificates. State winners receive certificates and silver medals. National winners receive special certificates, medals, and a monetary award.
The Frassati Catholic Academy community is thrilled to support Kate on her winning endeavors and progress throughout the competition, as well as keeping the tradition alive among the family. Kate looks forward to entering the contest each year and hopes to continue to develop her writing and literary skills and her winning success, of course! Kate is an aspiring writer among our Frassati Catholic Academy student body and won a previous award after submitting an essay for the D.A.R.E. program as a 5th grader at our Mundelein Campus. Congratulations Kate and keep up the great work!