At the beginning of every school week, there is a new word that students are introduced to. The new word is featured in both Arrowhead Union High School’s North and South Campus Libraries and students have the chance to win a prize each time they enter the word of the week contest.

The Word the Week contest is found at the entrance of the library. There is an entry form that students are encouraged to fill out. On the forms, students have to state name, grade, where he/she found the Word of the Week being used, the source of the word, and a sentence using the word.

English teacher at Arrowhead, Terri Carnell, said that, “For the first two years, the words came from ACT word lists or Common Core word lists. This year, the words correlate with the monthly department themes.  For example, September’s theme was ‘Everyday. On time.’ by the Arrowhead Way Committee, so the words this month relate to being on time.  I also take requests, and we do get them from teachers and community members every so often.”

On Arrowhead’s website is a link to a Google Doc that encourages teachers to use the current Word of the Week. When teachers use the words, students are able to enter the contest (because they’ve heard a use of the word at school).

There are prizes that students are able to win. You have a great chance of winning one of these prizes because it is not a popular contest at Arrowhead.

The prizes are organized by Carnell. She says that, “We wrote a grant last year to cover the cost of prizes.  I generally buy from local businesses like the Picnic Basket, Subway, Culver’s, Hillside Movie Theater, or Jimmy Johns.  We are going to run out of money soon though, so I will need to solicit businesses for donations.”

These words are a great tool for students to use, and make students prepared for college.

Recent winner of the Word of the Week Abbey Weisrock, senior, said, “It is a super cool experience. I am happy that I won a gift card, I will be able to get a sub sandwich with this.”

This week’s Word of the Week is Prompt. All students are encouraged to enter.