First place	$1,000
Second place	$750
Third place	$600
Fourth place	$500
Fifth place	$400
Sixth place	$300
Seventh place	$250
Eighth place	$200

Prince George’s Community Church is pleased to announce that its 4th Annual African-American History Contest is now underway. There will be eight prizes awarded. The prizes will total $4,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds. The complete rules for the contest are posted below. The contest coordinator for students at Flowers High School is Ms. Aarons, and the coordinator for students at PGC Church is Reverend Thompson.

In addition to writing an essay on this year’s theme, the students will also compete in a challenging written exam covering ninety topics relating to important persons, places, organizations and events in African-American History.

Purpose: To promote Excellence in Education and help students learn about the achievements of the African-American people.

Eligibility - All students who attend Flowers High School, as well as all high school students who attend Prince George’s Community Church are eligible to participate.

Contest - The contest has been designed to be challenging and will consist of the following two phases:

Phase 1) A written essay on the following topic:  “Does the Study of African-American History Help Me to Better Understand the Importance of Education in My Life”? The students with the highest essay scores will be named semifinalists and move on to compete in Phase 2.  (Essays are due December 12, 2007 - no late essays will be accepted)

Phase 2) A written exam with multiple choice and true and false questions pertaining to significant persons, places, organizations and events in African-American History.

Rules for Writing Essays

1. All essays are to be typewritten; double spaced and must be between 700 to 750 words.
2. Type font size must be #12; the preferred font style is Times New Roman or Arial.
3. ) Essays must have a cover sheet attached, which will include only the following information: a) Name of student, first and last name b) Name of school student attends c) Grade level of student d) Name of student’s English teacher d) Telephone number of student
4. The student is to type in his or her phone number on every page of the essay. The student’s name is to appear only on the cover sheet.
5. Any quotations or excerpts that appear in the essay are to be clearly referenced

Submission of Essays for Grading
Students at Flowers are to turn in their essays no later than Wednesday, December 12, 2007 to the school coordinator, Mrs. Aarons. Flowers students should see Mrs. Aarons for any questions. .Students at PGC Church are to turn their essays in on Sunday, December 16, 2007 to Reverend Thompson. No essays will be accepted after these dates.

Grading of Essays
Some of the elements that the judges will use to score the essays include: a) Spelling, grammar and punctuation. b) Development of the topic. c) Organization, are the various points flowing logically from one to the other. d) Support of points with references and examples. e) Clarity in conveying ideas, concepts and feelings, could the reader clearly understand what the writer was saying?

Announcement of Semifinalists
Names of the students with the highest essay scores will be announced on Monday, January 14th, 2008. The semifinalists will then compete in Phase 2, the written exam.

Written Exam on African-American History
The exam will be given to the students of Flowers High School during the week of February 4th; 2008. The students who attend Prince George’s Community Church will take the exam after the church service on February 3rd.

Rules for Written Test - 1) Test will last for 50 minutes. 2) Test will have up to 75 multiple choice or true and false questions. The questions will be derived from significant facts pertaining to persons, places, events or organizations that are listed below.

Notification of Contest Winners will be on Monday, February 18, 2008

Award of Prizes - Prizes will be awarded on Sunday, February 24, 2008 during the 9AM church service of Prince George’s Community Church, which is held in the auditorium of Flowers High School. Students must be present to be awarded prizes. The first and second place winners will be expected to read their essays. Judges will take into account both essay scores and the written test scores in selecting the 8 winners. Decisions of the judges will be final.

Sponsorship - The contest is sponsored by the Prince George’s Community Church and the Ione James Excellence in Education Fund. The contest was conceived and produced by Brother Louis James in memory of his late wife, Ione James, who was a teacher and administrator in school systems in Virginia, South Carolina, Washington, DC, and in Prince George’s County for over 39 years.