COUNCIL VOCATIONS COORDINATORS’ INSTRUCTIONS AND CRITERIA
RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS AWARENESS DRAWING CONTEST 2015-16
Knights of Columbus, Alberta/NWT
Theme: Religious Vocations Awareness. Part of the Grade 5 Alberta catholic school curriculum in religion
and art. The Year of Consecrated Life concludes February 2 2016, so getting the teachers and students to
do their posters before that date is encouraged this year.
Target Group: Grade 5 students, both girls and boys. Note: Councils are to advise the school principal via
the office staff about their intentions to invite their Grade 5 students to participate in the contest, before
approaching the Grade 5 teachers individually.
Purpose: To help promote an early awareness of the priesthood and other consecrated life. e.g, what it is
like and the purpose of choosing to become a priest, deacon, brother or sister and to display graphically their
vision of what inspired them to choose their religious vocation. The Knights are not trying to replace the
Grade 5 Religion lesson plan, but we do provide this as a motivator for greater awareness of consecrated life
by asking for voluntary participation in creation of a drawing.
Criteria:
1. A participant must be enrolled in Grade 5 in the schools within the Parish served by the local Knights of
Columbus Council, as well as children registered in a home school program residing within the
geographical boundaries established by the local Knights Council.
2. All entries should be done on unlined white 8-1/2” X 11” sized paper. Ask the children to leave a margin of
2 cm. If possible print out sheets with a thin line 2 cm border and ask them the do their drawing within the
border. This will ensure the drawing image can be scanned without loss of any of the art work or slogan.
3. Entries should be neat, colored or shaded, and legible.
4. Limit of one entry per participant.
5. Must be original work, drawn by hand. Coloring is encouraged but is optional. Spelling counts.
6. Entries should include a slogan. Following are some examples of ideas for slogans:
 Shine Through the Darkness
 God is calling. Can you hear it?
 Mary, Mother and model, help me to respond generously to the call.
 Holy Orders - A Life with Christ.
Original slogans are encouraged. Samples of previous council or regional winners have been posted to
the Knights of Columbus web site http://kofc.ab.ca/state-activities/vocations/religious-vocations-postercontest-winners/. These samples are intended to give everyone an idea of what we’re looking for.
7. Participant’s full name and school name must be clearly printed on the back of each entry (or in the case
of a home schooled participant, their home mailing address and phone number).
There should be a selection of the best six drawings in the School; three Boys and three girls. The school will
turn over the six drawings to the local Knights’ representative. The local Knights Council will then judge the
six received from every school along with any entries from home schooled participants in their area and will
select the best one and will submit it to the Knights of Columbus Alberta Office for the Stage 2 judging.
Images of all entries submitted, become the property of the Knights of Columbus. Winning entries may be
used by the Knights of Columbus in the promotion of the religious vocations. Councils will return any original
drawings before the end of the school year so that the teacher can give them back to the student to share
with their families.
Timelines:
1. Introduction of the program by local Knights to principals and teachers can start as soon as the school
opens for the school year, but not later than February 2 2016. Be sensitive to the teacher’s needs. They
cannot implement the drawing contest in their class in a rush. Give them as much advance warning as
you can. But remind them you have a deadline. See item 4.
2. Participation in the contest by students can begin when the Grade 5 teacher feels they are ready to assign
the task to the students.
3. Grade 5 teachers to submit the original poster entries to the local Knights Council or Assembly.
Suggested deadline is early March. This is the Stage 1 submission.
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4. Friday March 18, 2016 is the K of C Council or Assembly deadline, for submission for Stage 2 judging.
Entries. It is preferred that you scan the entry 300 dpi and save as a jpg and submit it along with the entry
form to vocationschairman@kofc.ab.ca. Keep the original to return to the student to show their family and
friends. If regular mail is used, please submit the original poster and the entry form to the State Vocations
Chairman and address it to the Alberta State K of C Office located in Red Deer. The State Vocations
chair will return original posters to the local Knight.
5. Stage 2 (State) judging to take place after Easter 2016. The State judges will select up to 10 drawings for
the South part of the jurisdiction and another 10 for the north. Cheques will be issued to award up to ten
$100 prizes and up to ten $50 prizes. The State Vocations Chairman will arrange to return the original
drawings to the K of C contact indicated on the entry form.
6. While waiting for the results, Councils may think about working with the school and parish community to
display as many of the posters as possible in areas where the public can see them. Seek permission from
your pastor to put up a trifold display in your church on Good Shepard Sunday, the fourth Sunday in
Easter, which marks the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In 2016, this event falls on Sunday April 17th.
7. The local Knights will present the State level prizes and if not already done, the certificates, to the
students before the end of the school year.
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Heavenly Father, bless the dioceses of Alberta and The Northwest Territories with an abundance of holy and
zealous priests, deacons, brothers and sisters. Give those you have called the special graces that their lives
require. Form us all in the likeness of your Son so that in Him, with Him, and through Him we may love you
more deeply and serve you more faithfully, always and everywhere. With Mary, we ask this through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Resources for Religious Vocations Awareness:
The local Knights are not always able to directly coordinate guest speakers to come to the schools.
Teachers, please contact your local Parish Office to discuss potential visits to the school by seminarians,
priests, deacons, nuns or religious brothers or sisters, as schedules permit. Or look to other resources listed.
Some excellent video clips are available for use in class rooms equipped with internet and audio visual
capability.
1.
The applicable School Division’s Religious Education Supervisor.
2.
Your local Parish youth minister, pastoral assistant, seminarian or priest.
3.
Your local Roman Catholic Diocese, Office of Vocations.
4.
The Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, makes available vocations
prayer cards, bookmarks, booklets and DVDs. Please keep in mind these materials may need to be
ordered by the local K of C Council or Assembly and will take time to arrive. The vocations resources
website for Knights of Columbus Supreme is http://www.kofc.org/un/en/vocations/index.html
If assistance is required with these instructions, or any aspect of the Religious Vocations Awareness
Poster Contest, send an e-mail with details of your request to the Knights of Columbus Alberta/NWT
State Vocations Chairman at John Leszkowicz at vocationschairman@kofc.ab.ca
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