SMCES Student Named PA’s Second-Grade Winner in Zaner-Bloser’s National Handwriting Contest

Lucy Dornisch, a student at St. Marys Catholic Elementary School, has been named Pennsylvania’s Second-Grade Winner for private schools in the 2019 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest.

Now in its 28th year, the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest gives students in kindergarten through eighth grade the chance to showcase and receive recognition for their handwriting skills in manuscript or cursive. Contest judges use the Zaner-Bloser “Keys to Legibility: Size, Shape, Spacing and Slant” to evaluate the entries. Students in kindergarten through second grade compete in the manuscript handwriting category, while students in third through eighth grade compete with cursive handwriting.

Participating schools, which all use Zaner-Bloser handwriting materials, held their own handwriting contests and chose a winning student from each grade to compete at the state level in the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. A student in each grade, one from a public school and one from a private school, was chosen as the state grade-level winner. Lucy, like other state-level winners, will compete in the national competition, vying with other state winners in the same grade at both public and private schools to earn the title of National Grade-Level Semifinalist or Grand National Champion.

Zaner-Bloser awarded a medallion to Lucy, an etched glass diamond award to her teacher Mrs. Kathy Bauer and a $100 Zaner-Bloser gift certificate to St. Marys Catholic Elementary.

“We are incredibly proud of Lucy for being named Pennsylvania’s second-grade private school winner in this year’s Zane-Bloser Handwriting Contest,” remarked St. Marys Catholic Elementary School principal Mrs. Debbie Slay. “Lucy’s handwriting reflects the patience and persistence she has dedicated to perfecting this skill. It is evident she is a very deserving recipient of this honor and we are thrilled to have her represent SMCES at the next level of competition.”

“We applaud the winning students for the dedication it took to demonstrate such outstanding manuscript and cursive handwriting skills, and we applaud their schools, which continue to recognize the importance of handwriting instruction,” said Lisa Carmona, president of Zaner-Bloser. “Research on handwriting shows that it not only helps children develop finger dexterity, fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination, but it also creates a foundation for literacy that strengthens reading and writing skills.”

Educators are rediscovering the important role handwriting plays in developing literacy skills. Many states are revising their standards and curricula to include explicit handwriting instruction.

Lucy is pictured with her teacher Mrs. Kathy Bauer (left) and her mother Mrs. Cathy Dornisch (right).

For more information about the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest, visit www.zaner-bloser.com/hwcontest.