Pennsylvania Supreme Court hosts art, essay contest for students

Students are invited to celebrate the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s 300th anniversary by participating in an essay and coloring contest.

“Recognizing the crucial role that civics education plays in the public’s understating of the judiciary, we are excited to expand our 300th celebration efforts to involve students at all grade levels,” said Chief Justice Max Baer. “The members of the Court and I look forward to hearing from students all across Pennsylvania about how they view the work and role of the Court throughout our history.”

Both contests are free and open to Pennsylvania students, including those in public, private, charter, cyber-charter or home school. The deadline for entries is May 6, 2022.

The coloring contest is open to all students ages 5-11, giving them the opportunity to create their own judge. After printing the judge cutouts available at https://www.pacourts.us, students can choose which judge they wish to color using creativity as their guide.

Students and parents are encouraged to submit photo entries on Twitter by tagging @PACourts and using #Supreme300, or by mail.

The essay contest is open to all students in grades 3 through 12, with essays being judged on creativity, overall quality and adherence to the questions:

Question (Grades 3-5): Why is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court important?

Question (Grades 6-12): Which Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice inspires you and why?

More information is also available at https://www.pacourts.us.

Essay entries can be submitted by email to Communications Office@pacourts.us.

Art and essay entries can be submitted by mail to: AOPC Communications, c/o Stacey Witalec, 601 Commonwealth Ave., Harrisburg, Pa 17106.

If submitting by mail, entrants should include the following information on a separate piece of paper: full name, school name, city, state, phone number, email (if applicable), teacher name and teacher email (if applicable).

Entries in both contests will be judged by Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices, along with members of the Supreme Court 300th Celebration Committee. Winners will be announced and recognized by the Court during its 300th anniversary celebration in May.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the Commonwealth’s highest court and the oldest appellate court in the nation.