KSPA 2021 Regional Contest: Writing Category W6

ASSIGNMENT

You will be writing five captions for a single spread in the yearbook. For each caption, clearly label the photo number at the top of the caption.

The event taking place in the photos is national signing day for high school football players.

Please use the information provided below. The writer should determine which information is relevant and important to the captions. Students may use dictionary, thesaurus and/or the Associated Press style manual. Only entries submitted online will be accepted. No exceptions will be made to this rule.

When you submit, you will simply be submitting plain text. Formatting such as italics, bold and underline will not transfer. Also, paragraph breaks will not transfer. To show the judge your intention to create a paragraph break, please use this double-backslash symbol: //  For instance, a passage with two paragraph breaks would look like this:

The school board reversed the policy with an 11-1 vote. // “I disagreed with the decision, but I lost this time,” said board president Yvonnes Nulton. // The policy will go into effect at the start of next school year.

TIMELINE

• 3 p.m. Feb. 19: contest materials available
• 11 p.m. Feb. 22: contest submission due

DIRECTIONS

This contest is meant to be completed individually. Please refrain from seeking help from others while completing this contest.

Failure to follow these directions may result in disqualification from the contest without refund. Please read and follow carefully. 

1. Read over the prompt presented below. The writer should determine which information is relevant and important to the story.
2. While writing, you may use resources like the AP Stylebook, an online style guide or a dictionary/thesaurus. 
3. Use whatever technology works best for you while writing your draft. This could be pencil and paper, your cell phone, your computer, etc. Do whatever you’re most comfortable with.
4. Do not include your name or your school’s name anywhere on your final draft.
5. Type up the final version of your story and submit it here.
6. Please do not share your draft, notes or ideas about the prompt with others until after the competition deadline.

Here is a link to this contest’s judging rubric.

DESCRIPTION

You are a member of Sunflower High School’s journalism staff. Your editor has asked you to write five cutlines for the photos provided with the information provided.

SCHOOL INFO

• Name: Sunflower High School
• Location: Clinton, Kansas
• Mascot: Mighty Buffalo
• Enrollment: 800 (grades 9-12)
• School colors: yellow and brown
• Yearbook: The Sunflower
• Newspaper: Sunflower News

Contest Info

• This is an on-site contest. 
• Do not put your name on the entry. If you do, your entry will be disqualified.
• Students must not request help or advice from any person other than the KSPA Executive Director Eric Thomas at [email protected], and that advice must be requested before the start of the contest.
• All work must be solely that of the contestant.

The photos in this contest should be considered as a package of images that will be used in a Sunflower High School publication that is covering an active month of projects in the Art Department. Please note that there is no social distancing or use of face masks because in the mythical world of Sunflower High School, there are no pandemics!

Photo #1

• This photograph was taken on February 1st, 2021 in the art classroom at Sunflower High School
• The people photographed, from right to left are: Callie Lavelle, Keenan Jacobson, Serena Hernandez, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Young, and Celeste Zappata.
• The art teacher pictured in blue, started a new art club at Sunflower High School in August of 2020
• Keenan Jacobson, center, is a freshman and has always loved art
• From Keenan Jacobson, “The art club was a great way for me to get involved as a freshman. I’ve met some of my best friends and Mrs. Hernandez has been an awesome teacher.”
• The art club has 23 members and meets on Thursday afternoons
• On December 15th, 2020, the art club put on a showcase featuring each student’s best work where they served hot chocolate and holiday cookies.
• The club has primarily focused on sketching and painting with acrylics, but will move into pottery and sculpting in February of 2021
• The art teacher’s name is Serena Hernandez

Photo #2

• This photo was taken on February 4th, 2021 in the art classroom at Sunflower High School
• Kinsey Albright is a sophomore and has been in the Sunflower High School art club since September of 2020
• The piece in the photograph is an abstract using watercolors. The students started working on it two weeks before the photo was taken
• Kinsey, a previous member of the cross country team, held the record for the fastest mile last season (5 minutes and 33 seconds)
• From Kinsey Albright, “I wanted to run cross country this fall, but I broke my foot this summer and my doctor told me to take the season off. I figured since I had some free time I’d try something new. Art’s pretty cool I guess, but I’m still getting the hang of it.”
• Kinsey’s mother, Janet Alrbight, is a well-known realtor and good friends with the art teacher, Serena Hernandez. She encouraged Kinsey to join the art club.
• From Kinsey Albright, “My favorite project we’ve done was when we went to the park across the street and sketched for an hour. Being outside and getting to draw whatever I wanted was so relaxing.”

Photo #3

• This photo was taken at the Rose & Reynolds Art Gallery in Clinton, KS on February 14th, 2021.
• The Rose & Reynolds Art Gallery featured work from the Sunflower High School art club in it’s “Sweetheart’s Weekend” event. The event offered discounted tickets to the gallery for Valentine’s Day weekend.
• Pictured from right to left: Rylie Brandonburg, Cole Daily, Deborah Clemes, and Herold Clemes
• Rylie Brandonburg, junior, and Cole Daily, sophomore, are both students at Sunflower High School whose work was featured in the gallery.
• Deborah Clemes is a well-known artist in the Clinton community and provided her feedback to the students on their work as part of a critique process arranged by Rose & Reynolds Art Gallery manager Isaac Mansfield
• Herold Clemes is a retired businessman and distinguished donor to the Rose & Reynolds Art Gallery
• From Rylie Brandonburg, “Getting Deborah’s feedback on my work was an amazing experience. My mom and I love her work. We even have a painting of hers in our house!”
• From Cole Daily, “I have a lot of respect for Deborah. She is such a talented artist. For her to take time out of her day to come see our work really means a lot.”
• From Deborah Clemes, “I love seeing the work of young people. It gives me a fresh perspective and helps me to see the world through their eyes. I hope I can come do a lesson for the art club sometime soon.”

Photo #4

• This photo was taken on Tuesday, February 16th at Sunflower Elementary for their annual Mardi Gras fundraiser
• The student painting is Hannah Owens, a sophomore at Sunflower HS. The girl is Luna James, a 4th grader at Sunflower Elementary
• Students in the art club at Sunflower High School volunteered to do face painting at the fundraiser
• For their face paint design options, kids were able to choose between a fish, butterfly, dog, cat or caterpillar
• This is Sunflower Elementary’s 6th Mardi Gras fundraiser
• Other activities at the fundraiser were bounce houses, cake walks, silent auctions, and games in the school gymnasium.
• From Carolin Haines, a student in the art club who helped do face painting, “I love that we get to come help the elementary school! When I went here, I loved going to the fundraiser each year!”
• From Hannah Owens, “I really like kids so I was the first to volunteer to help with the fundraiser!”

Photo #5

• This photo was taken on Friday, February 12th, 2021 at Sunflower High School
• Pictured, from right to left: Kelly Jansen, freshman, Daisy Matthews, sophomore, Ria Donnegan, senior, and John Williams, who teaches senior calculus and coaches the debate team
• This mural features the grand canyon and is the first in a series of five. The art club came up with a project they call “America the Beautiful,” that will feature different sceneries from all around the country.
• The other murals will feature a city scene from New York, the rolling plains, the rocky mountains, a sunny beach and the grand canyon.
• Students in the art club nominated who they wanted to paint each mural
• The club hopes to complete their project by the end of April 2021.
• From John Williams, “I have a big appreciation for art, even though I’m no good at it. When I heard some students from the art club were painting a mural, I had to check it out during my planning period. I am so impressed with what they’ve done so far.”
• From Kelly Jansen, “I was so honored to be nominated to help with the first mural, especially since I’m only a freshman. I’m learning so much by working with Daisy and Ria. They’re so talented! I can’t wait to see all the murals once we’ve finished the project.”
• From Ria Donnegan, “I’ve been a part of the art club for four years and this is by far the coolest project we’ve done. I love that I can leave my mark on the school like this before I graduate.”