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In an age when the typed word (e-mail, document, chart, text message, etc.) or even parts of a word to make phrases or sentences is the norm, students at two diocesan schools have joined hundreds if not thousands of schools nationwide that still stress the (possibly) dying art of handwriting. 

Click image to see the 2008 winner's full entry.

For students at St. Louis the King School in Glendale, that means practicing good penmanship year-round, especially when it’s time to create their entry for the annual National Handwriting Contest presented by Zaner-Bloser. Open to grades 1-8 in schools using the sponsor’s curriculum, the publisher sends a manuscript form to first and second graders and different cursive forms to second through fourth graders and fifth through eighth graders. The students then copy the sample sentence using their best penmanship.

Good handwriting still matters to these contestants.

Administrators at St. Louis the King should have postmarked eight entries — one from each grade — by yesterday for the contest. Classroom champs included Frank Navarro, Jonathan Nguyen, Liliana Gonzales, Arel Ramos, Esteban Ortega, Christine Nguyen, Frankie Leija and Ryan Grahn. Principal Jane Daigle said the Grahn family holds the school record for most grade level championships.

“The four Grahn boys have held the role of ‘handwriting champion’ for their class each year that they competed,” Daigle said. “The two youngest Grahn boys are twins and we seem to flip between one or the other each year.”

Click image to watch a recent Fox News report on handwriting.

This year, for the final time, eighth grader Ryan Grahn will compete at the state and national level. Judges will select a state winner per category from each grade and determine a national winner in the same manner. Catholic school students did well in last year’s competition, so good luck to St. Louis the King students.

Preschoolers at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tempe embrace the “Handwriting without Tears” program. New to the school this year, the program uses a fun, hands-on approach to teach correct letter formation and other writing skills. Pam Myskowski, director, said the program allows her 3-year-olds to get a basic start on writing. It uses various multi-sensory activities to teach about letter formation by practicing vertical and horizontal lines, diagonal lines and big and little curves, before piecing the exercises together. Check out a sample table of contents.

Also, check out a Fox News report from January on whether schools should drop script lessons.