Second-grader wins state handwriting contest

By Denise Dick

THE WRITE STUFF

The Stadium Drive pupil attributes his expertise to time and practice.

BOARDMAN — Second-grader Cade Kreps, 8, slowly draws the lines and loops of each letter of words called out by his classmates at Stadium Drive Elementary School.

That time and attention, coupled with neatness, earned him 2008 state handwriting contest winner honors for second-grade Ohio public school pupils.

About 12,540 Ohio school students participated in the contest with about 2,000 of them in second grade. The contest was sponsored by Zaner-Bloser Educational Publishers of Columbus.

“Koala” one girl called out.

Cade drew each letter on the dry erase board of teacher Debbie Seifert’s classroom, taking care to get the size, spacing and slant just right.

“Indians rule,” another boy suggested.

Cade, who was wearing a Cleveland Indians T-shirt, again complied, executing each letter just so.

“It just takes time and practice,” Cade said of his secret.

He practices a lot at home.

“It’s just something he’s good at and he likes to do,” said his mother, Jennifer Kreps.

Kreps and her husband, Sean, have three sons, and Cade is the oldest.

At an all-school assembly last week, Joan Marttala, an educational sales consultant with the company, presented Cade, Seifert and Principal Jim Goske with commemorative pens, marking the second-grader’s accomplishment. Cade and the school also received framed certificates and the school earned a $50 gift certificate for Zaner-Bloser materials.

Cade smiled and blushed as his members of his family, teachers and fellow pupils applauded.

“What they’re looking for is the size of the letters on the paper,” Marttala said.

The shape, slant and spacing of the letters is important, too.

Dennis Williams of Zaner-Bloser said handwriting instruction improves pupils’ overall performance in reading comprehension and writing skills.

Cade’s winning entry, consisting of his name and a sentence provided through the contest, was printed, but the penmanship champ says he likes cursive writing, too — no preference either way.

News that his writing outperformed all other public school second-graders in Ohio surprised Cade.

“It was hard to believe,” he said.

Cade hopes his younger brothers, Cameron, 7, and Ryder, 4, also can learn winning handwriting habits. Cameron is a first-grader at Stadium Drive.

“I’m trying to teach my one brother, but he doesn’t listen to me,” Cade said. “I say, ‘Cameron, take your time,’ but he just says he’s not going to listen to me.”