Woodland Kindergartener Wins Regional Handwriting Contest

WOODLAND, Maine (WAGM) -

A kindergartener from Woodland is being recognized for her exceptional handwriting in a national contest.

Azaelea Therrien of Woodland Consolidated School has been named the Regional Winner of the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. After receiving thousands of submissions from across the United States, 28 Regional Winners were named. The winners come from 19 states and represent grades K-6. Regional Winners represent four regions of the U.S., and each student will receive an engraved medallion in recognition of their achievement. Since 1991, more than 2.5 million students have participated in the contest.

“Every year we receive so many incredible submissions, and we wanted to acknowledge students’ hard work with a Atle that truly reflects the high level of competition,” said Lisa Carmona, Zaner-Bloser President. “It was obvious that all of our regional winners put in a lot of time and effort to master this skillset, and they deserve recognition for their tenacity.”

Students who participate in the competition also profit from the numerous cognitive benefits linked to writing by hand. The handwriting process has been proven to engage more of the brain than the act of typing, provide better recall, and help younger students recognize letters more quickly as they learn to read and write.

2024 Regional Winners

Northeast

• Kindergarten – Azaelea Therrien – Woodland Consolidated School – Woodland, ME

• Grade 1 – Namuun Baasanbold – Smoky Row Elementary School – Carmel, IN

• Grade 2 – Griffin Gouveia – Divine Mercy Catholic Academy, West Campus – Johnstown,

PA

• Grade 3 – Brooke Chagnon – Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School – Farmington, MI

• Grade 4 – Aiden Torrey Lim – Hawthorne Christian Academy – Hawthorne, NJ

• Grade 5 – Summer Hoefakker – Plymouth Christian School – Grand Rapids, MI

• Grade 6 – Anika Jajoo – Frank R. Conwell Middle School – Jersey City, NJ

Southeast

• Kindergarten – Emmy Maranges – Epiphany Catholic School – Miami, FL

• Grade 1 – Ethan Fabery – Portsmouth Christian School – Portsmouth, VA

• Grade 2 – Wes Currens – St. Pius X School – Edgewood, KY

• Grade 3 – Aria Maier – Saint Andrew Catholic School – Coral Springs, FL

• Grade 4 – Lakelyn Hartman – T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School – Lake Charles, LA

• Grade 5 – Samuel Rois–Ojeda – Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy – Melbourne, FL

• Grade 6 – Azlynn Florence – Sacred Heart School – Cullman, AL

Central

• Kindergarten – Prisha Darji – DAV Montessori & Elementary School – Houston, TX

• Grade 1 – Riansh Dias – DAV Montessori & Elementary School – Houston, TX

• Grade 2 – Myra Neupane – DAV Montessori & Elementary School – Houston, TX

• Grade 3 – Nuelle Rosenberg – Park Christian School – Moorhead, MN

• Grade 4 – Caden Baune – Red Rock Central – Lamberton, MN

• Grade 5 – Zita Miller – St. Anne’s Academy – White Bear Lake, MN

• Grade 6 – Mary Kieffer – St. Anne’s Academy – White Bear Lake, MN

West

• Kindergarten – Lakeisha Yara Killapange – Linda Rankin Givens Elementary School – Las

Vegas, NV

• Grade 1 – Arjan Sandhu – Van Avery Preparatory School – Temecula, CA

• Grade 2 – Allen Fassett – Warwick Public School – Warwick, ND

• Grade 3 – Gabby Bischoff – Emmanuel Lutheran School – Tempe, AZ

• Grade 4 – Ruby Waldron – Lincoln Elementary School – Rexburg, ID

• Grade 5 – Florence Laird – Reid School – Salt Lake City, UT

• Grade 6 – Maya Stone – Nativity Faith & Reason School – Broomfield, CO

All contestants wrote the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” because it includes the entire alphabet. Judges selected winners for each level based on Zaner-Bloser’s Four Keys to Legibility: the shape, size, spacing, and slant of the letters.

To enter the contest, students had to first compete among their classmates. Participating private and public schools selected their own winners who then advanced to regional judging. Grand National Champions will be selected from that pool and announced at the beginning of Aprilalongside Nicholas Maxim Winners, an award that recognizes students with cognitive, intellectual, physical, and/or developmental disabilities.