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     National Missing Children's Day Poster Contest


2009 Contest Information

Download 2009 Poster Contest information (application, certificates, etc.)

State Clearinghouse Information

Contest Rules:

  1. Applicant must be in the 5th grade.
  2. Artwork should reflect the theme “Bring Our Missing Children Home”. This phrase must appear somewhere on the poster. (Please refer to samples of winning posters from prior years that are attached to this fact sheet. Please note, however, that prior years had different themes).
  3. The theme must be depicted visually in one or a combination of mediums, such as: acrylics, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, magic markers, spray paint, crayons, pastels, etc.
  4. The finished poster must measure 11 x 14 inches.
  5. The poster must be submitted with a completed application (sample attached), which includes a description of the poster and a brief biography of the artist (neither to exceed 100 words) either legibly written or typed.
  6. Teachers should take this opportunity to educate children about child safety issues. In 2005, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in collaboration with Honeywell, launched the Got 2B Safe! Contest. Teachers were invited to submit brief lesson plans emphasizing Got 2B Safe's rules for personal safety. Information about this competition, along with lesson plans created by teachers themselves, can be found on the following web site: www.got2bsafe.com.
Judging Criteria:
  1. Complete contest rules must be followed for all levels of competition. Incomplete packages and incorrect sized posters will not be eligible for further consideration.
  2. Artwork will be judged on:
    1. Originality of design
    2. Reflection of the contest theme
    3. Use of color and materials
  3. Written applications will be judged on:
    1. Level of understanding of the subject expressed
    2. Clarity
    3. Grammar and syntax appropriate to the 5th grade level

2008 Contest

From left to right, OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores; Luann Crowther, teacher of Doyoun Park; Rachel Stevenson, 2007 Missing Children's Day poster contest winner; Doyoun Park, 2008 winner; and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey.

2008 Winning Poster

Comments from Doyoun Park

Previous Winners

Competition Procedures:

  1. Contact your State Missing Children Clearinghouse Manager to confirm the statewide judging process. The state's Missing Children Clearinghouse Manager will manage and coordinate the statewide judging and winner selection. State Missing Children Clearinghouse Managers are listed on: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/programs/postercontest.
  2. Establish your local process for selecting a winner. The process used to determine the winner of the local competitions will be the responsibility of the local entities.
  3. Include local non-profit organizations and other missing children organizations in the local judging process. Competition may be conducted within the following: schools, school districts, home schools, local governing bodies, PTA's, Boys and Girls Club, etc.
  4. Following local judging, follow the guidelines established by your State Missing Children Clearinghouse for submitting the winning entry.
  5. Following the statewide judging, submit the single winning poster to the Department of Justice. Entries for the national competition must be received by the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Child Protection Division by March 27, 2009 at the following address:

    6. Ron Laney, Associate Administrator
    Child Protection Division
    Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
    U.S. Department of Justice
    810 7th Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20531
    FedEx Zip Code: 20001
    202-616-3637

  6. At the national level, judging will be conducted by representatives from the Child Protection Division of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the National Endowment for the Arts and the law enforcement community.
  7. The national award winner will be notified by the Child Protection Division who will also notify the winner's school and the local media outlets.

Awards:

     At the local level:

  • Each applicant should receive a certificate of recognition for participating in the contest from the local sponsoring agency. A sample certificate of recognition has been prepared and is available for download from the following web site: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/programs/postercontest. Teachers should print the certificate from the website and present one to each student.
  • Participating agencies and sponsors will be responsible for duplicating and displaying the winning poster(s) in prominent sites deemed appropriate in the community (i.e. police station, public library, school office, etc.).

     At the state level:

  • The single state winner whose poster is selected to go to the national judging competition will receive a national award certificate from the Department of Justice.
  • The state is responsible for statewide events, activities, and awards to students participating from their state.
  • The Poster Contest coordinator from each state is asked to identify and submit to the Department of Justice the number of schools participating in the statewide competition as well as the approximate number of students participating from these schools.

     At the national level:

  • The single national winner, his/her teacher, and his/her parents will be brought to Washington, DC to participate in the National Missing Children's Day ceremony at the U.S. Department of Justice on or around May 25, 2008. Transportation and lodging will be provided. The national winner also will receive a national award certificate and a United States Savings Bond. No other awards will be provided by the Department of Justice

 Winning Poster:

  1. The winning poster (original and copies) becomes the property of the Department of Justice and will be displayed at the Department of Justice, Congressional Offices, and other locations as determined by the Child Protection Division and the Department of Justice.
  2. The winning poster may be used in publications, exhibits, displays and on websites as determined by the Child Protection Division and the Department of Justice.
  3. The winning poster will be used as the symbol for the National Missing Children's Day ceremony in 2010. The winner will once again travel to Washington, DC in 2010 when his/her poster will be presented as the national symbol for Missing Children's Day, 2010.
  4. Photos of the winner and his or her poster will also be available through the Child Protection Division and the Department of Justice and will be posted wherever contest information is available.
  5. The national finalists and the winning poster will become the property of the Child Protection Division and the Department of Justice. Any applicable copyrights will be held by those offices.

Contest Dates:

  1. January 13, 2009 – AMBER Alert Awareness Day
    1. Begin discussing safety issues with students
    2. Provide poster contest information to 5th grade students
  2. March, 2009
    1. All local, regional and state poster competitions completed
  3. March 27, 2009
    1. Deadline for local winner contest packages to be received by the Child Protection Division
  4. April, 2009
    1. National Judges submit the name of the poster contest winner
  5. May 1, 2009
    1. National winner notified
    2. Travel arrangements are initiated for attendance at National Missing Children's Day ceremony  

Helpful Links:

State Missing Children Clearinghouse Managers
Department of Education State Superintendents (Chief Officers)

Below, you will find links to child safety lesson plans that can be used to assist you with your classroom instruction.

www.got2bsafe.com
www.icactraining.org/Resources.htm
www.netsmartz.org/educators.htm
www.pollyklaas.com
www.radkids.org

Directions for Certificate Mail Merge:

to insert your student's names as well as your class name, please follow these directions:

  1. Create an Excel document with all of your student's names
    1. Make sure you have a column heading at the top of the Excel page
      Example:  Name
  2. Save and close the Excel document
  3. Print the sample Certificate template
  4. Put the Sample Certificates back into the printer
  5. Open the Mail Merge Template
  6. Click on Tools at the top of the Word document
  7. Click on Letters and Mailings , and select Mail Merge
  8. This will open up the mail merge wizard which will walk you through the rest of the process.

    Step 1 of 6:   Document Type:   ● Letters
    1. Click on Next

    Step 2 of 6:   Select Starting Document:   ● Use the Current Document
    1. Click Next

    Step 3 of 6:   Click on Browse and Open the file and select the recipients
    1. Click on the word document and type your class name over the text that says ‘insert class name'
    2. Highlight the text in the document that says ‘Student's Name'
    3. Click Next

    Step 4 of 6:   Click on More Items. This will pull up the column title Name
    1. Click on insert then close

    Step 5 of 6:   Click Next

    Step 6 of 6:   Click Next
    1. Click Print

If you have any questions or need additional information, please send an email to mc.day.2009@fvtc.edu or contact your Missing Children Clearinghouse Manager.


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