January 30, 2007
Dear High School History or Social Studies Department Head:
The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, with the Massachusetts Department of Education, are pleased to announce the third year of the Supreme Judicial Court John Adams High School Essay Contest. The purpose of this statewide contest is to encourage students in grades 9 through 12 to learn more about the Massachusetts Constitution. The essay question has been written to align with the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework standards and with the high school MCAS test in United States history. The essay contest question and relevant learning standards are enclosed with this letter.
The Justices will award first, second, and third prizes and honorable mention. The Appeals Court and the Social Law Library will join the Court to review all entries and to select the winning essays. The winning essays will be announced on Law Day, May 1, 2007 with first, second, and third prize winners receiving savings bonds. The first prize winner will also receive a visit to his or her classroom from a Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. All winning essay contestants will receive award certificates signed by each Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and will have their winning essays posted prominently in the public space of the John Adams Courthouse in Boston. Electronic copies of the winning essays and other outstanding essays may, with the student's permission, be posted on the John Adams Courthouse Education Resource Center's website.
We ask for your help in making the Supreme Judicial Court John Adams High School Essay Contest a resounding success. Specifically, we ask that you notify every Social Studies/History teacher in your high school about the contest, and encourage your faculty to assign the essay topic to students. We also ask that you, or a person or committee whom you delegate, select the one or two most outstanding essays for submission to the Supreme Judicial Court. The essay topic and the rules for submitting entries are detailed in the materials included with this letter. The deadline for essay submission is April 9, 2007.
The staff of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Department of Education are pleased to collaborate on this important effort to promote greater understanding among students of the nature and workings of state government.
If you have any questions, please contact Carol Lev, Coordinator of Program and Policy Development for the Supreme Judicial Court, at (617) 557-1074 or carol.lev@sjc.state.ma.us.
Sincerely,