West student Macy Bosard wins local essay contest

A sixth grade class at West Elementary in Sidney participated in the American History Essay Contest, sponsored by the Ft. Sidney chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Sarah Wilson, a sixth grade teacher at West Elementary, said this is the third year the class has participated in the essay project.

The classes topic this year was 'A Colonial Family's Reaction to the Stamp Act'. According to Carol Mason, with DAR, the topic is set by the national officers in Washington, D.C. After the topic is chosen, it is sent to the state and local chapters, who are then asked to sponsor the project.

The students were asked to write essays from a child's point of view when the Stamp Act was being enforced. The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.

Students wrote from various perspectives, from journal entries to first person perspectives and even included a bibliography.

Essays are judged for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation and neatness.

There were various placements for the essay winners and everyone in the class participated in writing the essays.

The first place winner was Macy Bosard. She said when learning about the Stamp Act, "You get a new perspective on how things were, and things you would have never known about."

Second place went to Jack Lilly. He said that we learn about the past, "Because you get to know more of the experiences they went through."

Participating chapters send one winning essay to be judged at the state level. The essay will then be judged at a division level before it heads to state. The winning essay from each of the four grades will then be judged on the national level and the winners are announced.

Each student who participates in the contest receives a certificate of participation from the chapter. 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 national winners also get the opportunity to come to the "Continental Congress" in July in Washington, D.C., and will be presented their awards in a ceremony.