AUGUST 2023

GUEST COLUMN
Chaldean News is proud to present the first-ever
Chaldeans Rising: Young Writers Challenge,
a writing competition that invites bright young
minds between the ages 14-25 to write a unique
essay about their perspective on the Chaldean
community and share their visionary ideas for
the future. Through this competition, we aim to
inspire imagination, spur critical thinking, and
create unity within our community.
CATEGORIES:
Teens (age range 14-18 at time of submission)
Young Adults (age range 19-25 at time of submission)
GUIDELINES:
Essays should be between 500 and 1500 words and
may be written on any topic related to our community.
Visit chaldeannews.com/writingcontest (QR code below)
for topic suggestions and prompts.
WRITING PROMPTS AND SUBMISSION FORM:
chaldeannews.com/writingcontest
DEADLINE:
October 31, 2023
PRIZES
1. $500 cash for top entry in each category
2. Select essays placed in a time capsule, to be opened in 2073
3. Top essayists to be profiled in the Chaldean News
4. Opportunity to contribute to community projects
5. All contributors celebrated on CN social media channels
Prizes will be distributed after the winners
are announced in December of 2023.
SCAN THE CODE FOR MORE
INFORMATION AND TO
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY
CHALDEANS
RISING
Young writers
challenge
WIN
$100!
$500!
Identifying Options
for Our Students
N. PETER
ANTONE
SPECIAL TO
THE CHALDEAN
NEWS
With the school year
about to begin, the
Chaldean News decided
to explore the issue of
whether our Chaldean kids
are making the best of the opportunities
offered to them in
school. To assist us in this endeavor,
we sought the opinion
of two prominent educators.
One is Crystal Jabiro, a certified
teacher at West Bloomfield
Middle School who possesses
a master’s degree and
is working toward obtaining her Doctorate
Degree in Education. Crystal
is focusing on issues related to Chaldean
and Assyrian students—exploring
education
gaps, diversity, and
social justice. The other
educator, Andrew Najor,
is a Teacher-of-the-Year
award winner at Key’s
Grace Academy in Madison
Heights.
Both educators emphasized
the importance
of parents’ involvement
in their kids’ student careers.
Many schools offer
an abundance of opportunities,
such as afterschool
tutoring, career
pathways, college application
assistance, afterschool
activities, sports, and student
clubs, among others.
Our Chaldean kids might not be
aware of all these options available to
them or might not have thought of getting
involved in any of them. Parental
involvement could not only help make
kids aware of the available opportunities,
it could also encourage them to
be more involved in and to take advantage
of these opportunities.
Schools are meant to prepare our
kids for the future once they graduate.
While America is already a melting pot
of many different cultures, our society
is becoming more diverse in terms of
national background, culture, and
race, and is becoming more accepting
of non-traditional sexual
orientations and gender
identities.
It will be important for
our kids to be able to communicate,
work, and interact
with such diverse groups of
individuals. Schools offer an
opportunity for such interaction
and enable our kids
to understand others who
might be different from them.
Parents could encourage
their kids to be more involved
and to interact with others and should
resist the temptation to have their kids
befriend only other Chaldeans.
While it is natural for our kids
to befriend other Chaldeans due to
shared culture, it is important for both
parents and kids to avoid isolating
themselves from others who might be
different from them.
Both educators with whom we
spoke explained that many Chaldean
parents are not as involved in their
kids’ schools as they can or should be.
Mr. Najor explained that many Chaldean
kids in his school are excelling
in their involvement in such activities
as student council, and after school
clubs. Still, others need the continuous
support, involvement, and encouragement
of their parents. It is a
topic worth discussing.
8 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2023