The following comes from a January 28 EconoTimes article:
LOS ANGELES– Michael Van Hecke, M.Ed., president of Catholic Textbook Project, the publisher of history textbooks for Catholic schools, confirmed the official launch of the company’s 2016 History Essay Contest for Catholic students in Grades 5 through 12. Contest submission deadline is March 23, 2016, and six separate contest divisions allow for six student winners. Each student winner will receive a cash prize ranging from $100 to $200 each. Catholic schools and homeschools benefit as well.
“We are very proud of this contest and of last year’s nearly 2,000 entries and the four 2015 winners and their schools and homeschools,” says Van Hecke, who is also headmaster at a Ventura, California-based Catholic school.
This year’s history essay challenge requires students to choose a Catholic of historical significance and describe how this person influenced the times in which he or she lived. Although saints are a possible choice, the contest challenge is much wider and includes any Catholic historical figure.
“Catholic students benefit tremendously from learning and studying how faith influences the daily lives and choices of human individuals throughout history,” Van Hecke continues. “These students are more likely to grow into leaders who understand the importance of living their Faith principles in all that they are called to do in their own lives and in the choices they make as they grow into adulthood.”
Topic requirements for different grade levels differ. See contest rules and guidelines listed on the Essay Contest page (www.catholictextbookproject.com/essay-contest).
Catholic author and historian, Hilaire Belloc, wrote, “Every major question in history is a religious question. It has more effect in molding life than nationalism or a common language.”