CONTESTS

	CONTESTS

WRITING

B'nai B'rith Holocaust Essay Contest: How would you like to win a cash prize? FMS students are invited to enter the Annual B’nai B’rith Capital Area Holocaust Essay Contest, and compete for cash prizes ranging from $100 to $200. The topic for this year has not yet been announced. Essays should be the students original, independent work, and must be at least 500 words for middle school students. The deadline for email or postmark submission is April 16 of each year. For more information, visit HolocaustEssayContest.ramtrac.com.

Black History Month Creative Expression Contest - Write an original essay that is between 100-500 words, or an original poem. The subject must be about a Black person, an event or political outcome that had a significant impact on the experience of African people in America or around the world. Entries may be submitted in three categories: 1) Grades 3-5; 2) Grades 6-8; and 3) Grades 9-12. See Mrs. Escobar for an entry form and more information; or contact Roberta Hall Slade at dstanya67@gmail.com. Entries must be postmarked by 11:00 pm on November 21, 2011.

2010 Sejong Writing Competition: For Junior Division up to grade 8; and senior division grades 9-12. Essay Competition: Choose a folk tale from the www.sejongculturalsociety.org website and write an essay either (a) explaining your interpretation of the story; (b) Changing a story; (c) Discussing which character you relate to the best. Poetry Competition: Sijo writing, (similar to haiku) write a poem of your choice. Prizes include publishing of your work along with various cash prizes. See the www.sejongculturalsociety.org website for additional information. Deadline April 30th.

Patriot's Pen is an essay writing contest for grades 6, 7, and 8. This competition gives students the chance to write essays expressing their views on democracy. Contestants write a 300-400 word essay based on an annual patriotic theme. First-place winner receives a $10,000 savings bond and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. Top national winners each receive a savings bond anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000.

AWM Essay Contest is open to students from Grades 6-12 and is created to increase awareness of women's ongoing contributions to mathematical sciences. In this contest, the student interviews a female mathematician and writes a biographical essay on their career. The essay should be between 500-1,000 words in length. Some suggestions for interview subjects include: female math teachers, female math professors at colleges, female engineers, etc. Prizes will be awarded and the grand prize winner will have the essay published in the AWM Newsletter. See the link below for additional information and samples of previous winning essays.

Engineer Girl Engineering Essay Contest asks students to write about a yearly theme that has to do with engineering or technology. There are two age divisions: grades 4-6; and grades 7-9. This year's deadline has passed but check the link out and watch for news on next year's contest.

ART

Doodle 4 Google -- Create an original logo for Google inspired by the year's theme. This year's theme has not yet been announced. This contest is open to students in K-12 schools. FMS is allowed to send six entries to the national contest. All entries are due to Mrs. Escobar by March 24. Each entry must include the completed entry and parental consent forms that are available below. The doodle should be presented on a white, landscape sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper. Download the template below to use as a model for your design. The doodle can be in pencil, crayons, felt tip or paint, or could be done using computer drawing or design software. Entries will be judged based on artistic merit, creativity, representation of the theme, and appropriateness of the supporting statement. Note: A PDF template of the Google logo is available below, but if you would like to use GIF templates for computer editing, see Mrs. Escobar (bring a memory drive) in Room 101 to obtain the files.

PHILOSOPHY

Kids Philosophy Slam - This contest asks kids to write, create poetry, music or create artwork about their personal experiences regarding a philosophical question posed each year. Any student from Kindergarten through 12th grade can enter, including special education students. Deadline is usually in February of each year. See the link below for more information for next year's contest.

MATH

See Writing Section for AWM essay on female mathematicians.

SCIENCE/ENGINEERING/TECHNOLOGY

eCybermission Challenge - This contest lets teams of three or four students (Grades 6-9) identify a problem in the community that is related to Health and Safety, Arts and Entertainment, Sports and Recreation, or the Environment. Teams identify a problem, formulate a hypothesis and conduct research and experiments to find a possible solution. Teams must have a team advisor. They submit their "mission folder," with attached files, via the website. Judges review and score the mission, and regional winning teams with the highest score are invited to compete at the National event. Potential prizes include up to $8,000 in US EE Savings Bonds. Check out the link below for more information.

See Writing Section for Engineer Girl contest.

MISCELLANEOUS

A & E Classroom Contests - The A&E Television Network sponsors a variety of contests throughout the year with some pretty cool prizes. Check out the link below for more information.