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2012-2013

CONTEST AND EVENT

GUIDE

For

Beaverton School District Students

A Wide Assortment of Opportunities for Kids Who Like

a Challenge

 This is an informational packet only. The user is responsible for determining the accuracy of events,

dates, and fees incurred. Publication of information by Beaverton School District is not an endorsement of

any contest, activity, camp or event.

 

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Copyright held by Beaverton School District for the exclusive use of students and staff.(Copy privileges permitted at individual school sites)

Compiled by TAG Services, Beaverton School District16550 SW Merlo Road, Portland, OR 97006

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CONTEST AND

EVENT

GUIDE

CONTENTS

STUDENT LETTER

 Invitation to participation 4

ONGOING CONTESTS AND EVENTS

 Beaverton School District and commercially sponsoredopportunities that may require involvement throughoutthe school year 5

PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES

General guidelines for publishing  Publications that invite student work 11

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 2012-2013

Dear Students,

Welcome to the world of creativity, challenge and competition! If you have ever written a

great story or poem or created an excellent science project, this booklet may be just theperfect resource for you! A host of opportunities are enclosed in these pages. You will findmany contests and events that celebrate kids’ creativity and provide challenges.

Some information is posted for each competition or event. You are strongly encouraged,along with your parents and teachers, to check on all of the rules before entering any eventlisted in this document.

Ask yourself why you are interested in participating in a competition or event. Are youwilling to take a risk when entering a contest? More importantly are you will to try again?And, are you willing to accept that the greatest prize might be in knowing that you learnedsomething or tried something new?

Here are some tips for entering events or competitions:

• Highlight the activities in which you might be interested and plan ahead forparticipation.

• A complete list of rules and eligibility requirements will save you lots of time.• Fill out the entry forms in ink completely or have them typewritten. Write legibly.• Check to see if there is an entry fee. It’s best not to send cash.• Be sure to use the best materials you can find for art entries. Use appropriate-sized

paper and media. Do not use lined paper. DO NOT write your name on the front of apicture unless the rules say to do so. Label on the back neatly or with an adhesive

label. Be certain to conform to size and “orientation” (which way to use the paper -vertical or horizontal). Any message that may be part of the poster or picture must bewritten so it can be seen from a reasonable distance.

• Package any artwork carefully so it doesn’t get bent or torn.• Find a mentor to help you make certain that everything is in order before sending in

any entry.• Has all of the spelling been checked?• Is your work appropriate? Does it meet the guidelines specified for publication?• Is the work ALL original? Is it ALL OF YOUR OWN creating? Do not use any

trademarked subjects such as comic book characters.• Do you need to have a teacher sponsor your entry or event?

• Be sure to send in your entry before the deadline. Check to see how your work willbe returned. Do you need to enclose a return envelope?• MAKE A COPY OF EVERYTHING YOU SEND INTO ANY PUBLICATION!

Contests continue to be announced throughout the year so look for them in local newspapersand new publications for young people.

Have fun and good luck!

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CONTESTS AND EVENTS

A Menu of Opportunities

JSHS ACADEMY OF APPLIED SCIENCE:  Junior Science and Humanities Symposiumhas been encouraging and rewarding high school students’ achievement in the sciences since1958. Students in grades 9-12 with the potential or demonstrated interest in the sciences,engineering, or mathematics are eligible to participate. Students who are conductingoriginal research are encouraged to submit papers and participate in the JSHS. Top finalistsreceive large tuition scholarships. For more information go to http://www.jshs.org

AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL MATH EXAM:  The high school exam consists of 25questions in a multiple choice 40-minute exam. The focus is on problem solving. The examcovers all pre-calculus mathematics. All students who score 100 or more on the exam areautomatically invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics Exam. High scoringstudents may qualify for the USA Mathematical Olympiad. Contact your local high school

math department for further information. Most Beaverton high schools participate. Forfurther information contact the Dept. of Mathematics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE68588-0658. Web info: http://amc.maa.org/ 

AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL THEATER FESTIVAL: This festival gives our nation’sdrama students an opportunity to showcase their skills within an international forum. Findadditional information at their website: http://www.ahstf.com

AMERICAN MATH COMPETITIONS (MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH EXAM).Beaverton middle schools participate in this national math exam which is held the secondTuesday in November. For further information, contact a Beaverton TAG Specialist,

middle school math teacher, or see the AMC website at http://amc.maa.org/ 

AMERICAN COMPUTER SCIENCE LEAGUE:  The ACSL organizes computerscience and programming contests for middle and senior high students. Nearly 300 schoolsin the US and Canada participate in the five contests held annually. Team participation feesare approximately $125, and contest books with earlier tests are available upon request.ACSL publishes a newsletter containing results of each contest. Visit their website athttp://www.acsl.org

BEAVERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT SPELLING CONTEST: This District sponsoredevent will be held in spring at the Beaverton School District Central Office. Check with

your teachers to learn the exact date. Preliminary contests will be held at school sites todetermine each school’s representative. Classroom teachers can access a practice spellinglist through District e-mail in the TAG Resources folder. Winners from three divisionsadvance to the Washington County Spelling Bee and, if successful, to the Oregon StateSpelling Bee at the state fair.

BEAVERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT & the OREGON WRITING FESTIVAL: Studentrepresentatives from each school is invited to participate in Portland State University’swriting festival the first Saturday in May. Check with Language Arts teachers or the

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 District TAG Specialists for more information regarding this event.

CHESS FOR SUCCESS TOURNAMENT:  Practice all year long in your school’s chessclub to participate in the OMSI/OSCF Chess Tournament that usually takes place in March.The fee is $20.00 per player with early registration. For more information see their website

at http://chessforsuccess.org

NSTA National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards: This competitionchallenges students to use creativity and imagination along with science, technology, andmechanical ability to invent or modify a tool. No older than 21. $10, 00 in prizes awardedeach year.  Online at http://www.exploravision.org/ 

CTY JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY TALENT SEARCH:  Qualifying students areinvited to participate in this national offering. The “search” is designed to identify, assess,and recognize students with exceptional mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities.Students scoring at or above the 95th percentile on a standardized test are eligible. Forexact dates each year see info at http://www.jhu.edu/gifted

DESTINATION IMAGINATION: This is an international, creative challenge resolutionfor students in K-12. Teams of students, consisting of up to seven team members,brainstorm, write, build, costume and practice their solution to a problem at a tournament.Contact: http://www.destinationimagination.org/ 

THE DUPONT CHALLENGE: Students in grades 7-12 write an essay on a majorscientific challenge to society. The individual essay can be on any area of science. Essaysshould have all quotes and facts properly noted and have a bibliography. Prizes includesavings bonds awards and trip to Houston Space Center. Essay deadline is January 25,2006. Check their web site for more information at http://thechallenge.dupont.com/ 

2013 FEDERAL JUNIOR DUCK STAMP PROGRAM AND SCHOLARSHIP:Deadline for this great offering is mid March. This program integrates art and sciencecurriculum and habitat conservation. See their website athttp://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/ArtContest.htm#GeneralInformation

FUTURE CITY COMPETITION: This competition is open to 6th-8th grade students tofoster interest in engineering, math, and science through hands-on, real world applications incoordination with National Engineers Week. Students are asked to design and build a cityof the future. Registration is generally in mid Fall. See website registration information athttp://futurecity.org/ 

FUTURE PROBLEM SOLVING PROGRAM:  The FPSP helps students (ages 9-19)think critically, creatively, and futuristically. The Scenario Writing component of thisprogram strives to help students enlarge, enrich, and make more accurate those images ofthe future. Each year FPSP offers four problem solving components including teamproblem solving, community problem solving, scenario writing, or action-based problem

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 solving in which students might be involved. Contact the Future Problem Solving Programonline at http://www.fpspi.org

LISTEN TO A LIFE: A young person 8-18 years interviews a grandparent or grand friend50 years or older and writes an essay about their life. Prizes include a thinkCentre computer.

Additional information available at www.tcpnow.com

MATHCOUNTS:  Over 7000 schools participate at the national level. MATHCOUNTSpromotes student interest by making math achievement challenging, exciting, andprestigious as a school sport. In Oregon, the Professional Engineers of Oregon coordinatesthe program. Be aware of the mid-November registration deadline; late registration mid-January. Regional competition is held in February, state competition takes place in March,with national competition being held in May. For more information visit theMATHCOUNTS website at http://mathcounts.org

MATHFAX:  This opportunity started in the fall of 1996 and has rapidly grown to 1300participating. Participating students sharpen math skills needed to do well on college

entrance exams. All levels of competition offered from elementary through high school.Site contains problems of the week. See the website at: http://www.Educontest.com MATH OLYMPIAD: Students who love problem solving in grades 3-7 work as teams,meet regularly, and study past Olympiad problems to solve designated tests five timesthroughout the school year. September 30 is the enrollment deadline, but later registration ispossible. The event is well organized, and a fee is required. Teams may contain up to 35students. Site contains problem of the month. For more information go to:http://moems.org

2013 MOONBUGGY COMPETITION:  Prizes awarded to the team whose Moonbuggy

represents the best technical approach toward solving the engineering problem of navigatingthe lunar surface. Prizes awarded for high school and college divisions. Seehttp://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

IN WRITING:  Especially for Grade 11 students, high school English departmentsnominate excellent writers who will graduate the following year. In April, students submittwo pieces of original writing, an impromptu essay and a sample of their best writing -- apoem or short story. Awards are announced in October. NCTE also offers the PromisingYoung Writers Program for students in grade 8. Nomination deadline is in mid-January.Online at www.ncte.org/awards/student/pyw

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE:  Schools need to register in December for this event!Appropriate for students in grades 4-8. School bees and qualifying test dates are from lateNovember to mid-January. Website info at:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee

NATIONAL GRANDPARENTS’ DAY: Any child ages 4 through 14 may enter thiscompetition’s offerings in the areas of art, writing, or photography. Grand prizes offer trips

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 to San Diego. The deadline for entries is usually in July. See website:http://www.grandparents-day.com

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY:  The History Day program is an exciting way to studyhistory and learn about issues, ideas, people, and events that interest students in grades 6-12.

Send for the informational packet very early in the school year. Website:http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/ 

PAUL A. WITTY SHORT STORY AWARD/LEE BENNETT HOPKINS

PROMISING POET AWARD: Students in grades K-12 may submit entries in prose orpoetry. Entry due date is December 1, 2006 and May 2006 respectively. Monetary awardsand certificates of merit are presented at the spring International Reading AssociationConvention. Website: http://www.reading.org/Resources/AwardsandGrants.aspx

NATIONAL PEACE ESSAY CONTEST FOR GRADES 9-12: The United StatesInstitute of Peace sponsors this annual contest to promote public education and discourse onthe complexities of international conflict and peacemaking. Following established

guidelines, a student submits a 1500 word essay on the assigned current events topic, alongwith bibliography end notes of reviewed sources. Deadline: Feb. 1, 2007. Information at:http://www.usip.org/ed/npec/index.html

NFPW (National Federation of Press Women) HIGH SCHOOL

COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST: This prestigious national contest gives awards forexcellent journalistic work in editorials, feature stories, news stories, sports stories, personalcolumns, feature photos, cartooning and graphics. State deadline is in February and anational contest exists. Entries must be the work of students enrolled in grades 9-12 duringthe current school year. For further information see website athttp://nfpw.org/highSchoolContest.cfm

ODYSSEY OF THE MIND:  See their website at http://www.odysseyofthemind.com forfull information regarding registration deadlines and problems for the current year.

PENTAGAMES: This middle school math competition takes place each year in April andis a contest for seventh and eighth graders. The competition consists of a series of fivegames that include individual and team events. Contact your math teacher or ContactCheryl Klampe-Van Hess, (503) 749-1918 or  jejcball@aol.com. https://sites.google.com/site/pentagameswv/  

PHYSICS BOWL: All students who enter take a 40-question, timed, multiple-choice testsupervised at their school in April. Contest questions are based on topics and concepts in atypical high school physics course. The contest is designed to be challenging. First andsecond year physics students will compete in separate divisions. A school’s score in adivision is the sum of the four highest student scores. More information online:http://www.aapt.org/Programs/contests/physicsbowl.cfm

THE PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH AWARDS: Individuals or student

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 groups in grades K-12, who have completed an environmental project are eligible tocompete for awards. Projects must have an adult sponsor. Ten outstanding projects arechosen each year. Application deadline is Oct. 31 for regional award. For more informationsee their website at http://www.epa.gov/students/awards.html

QUILL AND SCROLL SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL WRITING & PHOTO

CONTEST: National News association invites currently enrolled high school students tocompete in twelve divisions by submitting entries published since last year’s deadline in aschool, local or national newspaper: editorials, in-depth reporting, advertisement, cartoons,news stories, feature stories, sports stories, yearbooks and photography. First placesweepstakes winners in each category receive a National Award Gold Key and plaque ormounted certificate. Winners at the high school level also receive one of ten scholarships.Deadline for entries is Feb. 5 each year. More online athttp://quillandscroll.org/contests/writing-photo-contest

REGIONAL SCIENCE BOWLS:  These annual science bowls for middle school studentsare usually held in January or early February and need to be applied for in early November!

There are 16 slots for middle school competition, first come, first served basis. Sponsoredby BPA and Department of Energy. Questions are in the areas of science and math and areage-appropriate. Teams are made up of four students (plus one alternate) and play fourmatches in a four-division round-robin competition. The winner of each division isdetermined by a percentile ranking of questions. The four winners advance to a double-elimination ladder that uses the toss-up bonus question format. Winning team advances tothe National Science Bowl. Additional info: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/nsb/middle-school/middle-school-regionals/oregon-regions/bpa-regional-science-bowl/ 

THINKQUEST:  ThinkQuest Junior encourages students in grades 4-6 to take an interestin technology by asking teams of students, coached by school faculty, to create educational

Web sites. Winning students, coaches, and schools will divide more that $200,000 in prizemoney and receive computers and networking resources. For students 12 to 19 years old,ThinkQuest provides $1,000,000 to be shared by winning teams and schools.http://www.thinkquest.org

WILDLIFE FOREVER STATE FISH ART CONTEST: This should be a natural forOregon kids (grades 4-12) as they draw their state fish in its natural habitat. Contestdeadline is March 31, 2013. Wonderful website (http://www.wildlifeforever.org/ )contestwill give lesson plan options, info regarding fish anatomy and specific state fishhelps.

THE WRITING CONFERENCE, INC:  This conference annually sponsors writing

contests in poetry, narration, and exposition for elementary, middle and high schoolstudents. Find more info at http://www.writingconference.com/contest.htm

YOUNG NATURALIST AWARDS: Sponsored by the American Museum of NaturalHistory. Students in grades 7-12 are invited to select a topic and submit an essay (12) basedupon evidence of observation, research, analysis, interpretation, writing and visuals.Deadline for annual event is March 1, 2013. Complete information regarding this event at:http://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/young-naturalist-awards

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 YOUNG WRITERS CONTEST:  The purpose of the poetry contest is to bring recognitionto young writers. Winners in each state share over $50,000 plus a complimentary copy ofthe anthology that features their poem. All poets must be in grades 4-12. See website infoat: http://www.youngpoets.org/  

PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES

TIPS FOR WRITING TO PUBLISH

• Rework pieces you like from year-to year and continually upgrade them for publication.

• Follow submission guidelines without exception.

• Write about what you know best.

• Submit something other than just stories and poems such as book reviews, opinions pieces, and

responses to what’s already been published as well as artwork.

• Send in several well polished pieces to a variety of publishers.

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 • Send COPIES of your work, not originals!

THE CONCORD REVIEW: This journal publishes exemplary history essays fromsecondary school students. Samples of published essays are included on the site, as well assubmission requirements and information on the $3,000 Emerson Prize the magazine awards.The Review encourages young authors to submit student essays in the 4000-6000 word range.Online at http://www.tcr.org

CREATIVE KIDS: Submissions accepted for ages 8-14 only. Various contests areadvertised throughout the publication year. Students are invited to submit cartoons, reviews,songs, stories between 800 and 900 words, activities, editorials, plays, responses to issues,word games, brain teasers, logic puzzles, original art work (preferred are pencil sketches anddrawings). Online at: http://www.prufrock.com/client/client_pages/prufrock_jm_ck_wg.cfm

KIDSBOOKSHELF:  Check out their website at www.kidsbookshelf.com. This websiteoffers contests in the areas of poetry, short stories, and drawing. Teachers and students areinvited to publish class stories and book reviews at this site.

MERLYN’S PEN:  The National Magazine for Student Writing - Middle School Edition andSenior High Edition. The magazine seeks manuscripts that grip the reader’s interest and stirthe heart and mind. In publishing student writing, Merlyn’s Pen seeks to broaden and rewardthe young author’s interest in writing, strengthen the self-confidence of beginning writers, andpromote among all students a positive attitude toward literature. Highly valued are theauthentic voice, manner, and clear expression of young adult authors. Online athttp://www.merlynspen.com 

NATIONAL WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY...: This awards contest is for studentsin age categories 6-9, 10-13, 14-19. Entrants may submit an original book of 16-24 pages

they have both written and illustrated. One winner in each age category receives a publishingcontract from landmark editions, works with professional editors and art directors to preparefor publication and is paid royalties on sales. Online at www.landmarkeditions.com

NEW MOON - The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams: A colorful bi-monthly magazineappeals to girls from ages 10-14. They accept submissions for artists and writers. Monthlythemes are posted. Online at http://www.newmoon.com

POTATO HILL POETRY: This magazine promotes writings by students in grades 1-3.Poems of any topic, of any length, and in any form can be submitted, but must be unpublished

and original work only. For specifics, please see their website athttp://www.potatohill.com/contest.html

SCHOLASTIC ART WRITING AWARDS: Program operates at both the local andnational level; regional finalist entries are forwarded to New York for national judging, shortstory, essay/nonfiction/opinion writing, dramatic script, poetry, humor, science fiction/fantasyand writing portfolio. Entries are considered for awards, publication opportunities, andscholarships. Online at http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/artwriting.htm

SKIPPING STONES:  Skipping Stones is an award-winning, international, non-profit

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 magazine celebrating ecological and cultural diversity. Young readers of Skipping Stonesrange from ages 8 to 16 and hail from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.Online at http://www.skippingstones.org

STONE SOUP: Welcomes submissions by young people through age 13. Send your work to:

Stone Soup, Submissions Dept., P.O. Box 83, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 Online athttp://www.stonesoup.com/stone-soup-contributor-guideline/ 

THE WRITERS’ SLATE: For students in elementary through high school. Subscribe andpublish writing in this national journal. Online athttp://www.writingconference.com/writer's.htm

WRITERS DIGEST OFFERING:  On-going contests are available at the website:http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/writing-competitions. Winners usually receive acopy of The Young Writer’s Guide to Getting Published.  There’s also usually a 75-word limit.

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