CONTESTS

WRITING

Martin Luther King Jr. Writing Invitational - This contest gives students a chance to display their writing in a special exhibition at Siena College.   Students in grades pre-1st through 12 can submit art or writing that relates to the theme.  The topic this year is "Leadership in the 21st Century."  Students may write on anything related to the topic, along with leading the march for justice and equality to treat all people with respect and dignity, acting to eliminate discrimination, and promoting nonviolent social change that fosters harmony and inclusion.  Short essays or stories (250 word limit) or poems that are one page or less.  Writing pieces must be mounted on a 12" x 18" piece of colored construction paper.  A 3 x 5 notecard must be stapled to the lower front right hand corner and must include:  Name, Age, Grade, School, and Name of Teacher who guided the project.  You may sign up to work with Mrs. Escobar if you are not already working with a teacher on this contest.  Deadline for Submissions:  November 5.  Signup form is located in the "Forms" section of this website. 

Laws of Life Essay Contest gives students a chance to write an essay about the value that is most important to their own life.  The next contest will be in 2009.  Winners will receive gift certificates to Crossgates Mall in the following amounts:  $100, first prize; $50, second prize; $25, third prize; $10 for each of two honorable mentions.  Download the student information packet and entry form below.  Coming in the Spring!!!

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.  Students enter by submitting the required entry form (see web link below), along with their essay, to the local VFW Post by November 1, 2009. FOR MORE INFO RE. WHERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ESSAY, SEE MRS. ESCOBAR OR MRS. SICKLER IN ROOM 101.

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.

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 $400.  This year’s essay topic has not yet been announced.  The deadline for email or postmark submission is usually in April of each year.  Please see the files below for the rules and required cover sheet. 

ART

Doodle 4 Google -- Create an original logo for Google inspired by the theme, "What I wish for the World."  For example, do you wish we could make college free for everyone, or make sure everyone has clean water?  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 Monday, March 23rd.  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.

Martin Luther King Jr. Art Poster Invitational - This contest gives students a chance to display their artwork in a special exhibition at Siena College.   Students in grades pre-1st through 12 can submit art that relates to the theme.  The topic this year is "Leadership in the 21st Century."  Students may write on anything related to the topic, along with leading the march for justice and equality to treat all people with respect and dignity, acting to eliminate discrimination, and promoting nonviolent social change that fosters harmony and inclusion.  Posters must be 12" x 18" design on an 18" x 24" paper mat.  Bright markers or paint, no pastels.  A 3 x 5 notecard must be stapled to the lower front right hand corner and must include:  Name, Age, Grade, School, and Name of Teacher who guided the project.  You may sign up to work with Mrs. Escobar if you are not already working with a teacher on this contest.  Deadline for Submissions:  November 5.  Signup form is located in the "Forms" section of this website. 

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.

Laws of Life Contest Info (doc file)
Student information packet and entry form, with helpful tips for writing the Laws of Life essay.

B'nai B'rith Essay Contest Rules (pdf file)

B'nai B'rith Essay Contest Cover Sheet (pdf file)

Google Parental Consent (pdf file)

Google Entry Form (pdf file)

Google Doodle Templates (pdf file)

	pdf file: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 5 or higher) to view this file. Download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader for PC or Macintosh.
	doc file: You need the Microsoft Word program, a free Microsoft Word viewer, or a program that can import Word files in order to view this file. To learn more about the free Microsoft Word Viewer, visit the Microsoft Word website.

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