Kentucky Teacher

Parents, guardians, and teachers, the United States Mint is inviting young people through age 13 to unleash their inner artist talents by creating a coin design that captures the theme “What’s Great About Baseball.”

Children and students have an opportunity to become a part of a historic competition designed to connect America through coins and the mutual celebration of our national pastime, baseball. Children ages five and under, six to ten, and eleven to thirteen are encouraged to enter. The competition runs through May 23.  For more details about the competition, visit http://kidsbatterup.challenge.gov/.

As a reminder, each spring the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual arts competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent.

Participation in the contest is at the discretion of each Congressional representative’s office. Please contact your representative to confirm your district’s participation and obtain specific guidance on submissions. The various representatives have different deadlines for accepting works but they are generally at this time of year. Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.

For more information, go to www.house.gov/content/educate/art_competition/.

Entries are being accepted until April 30 for the annual National Association of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) — Ohio Valley Chapter High School Student Production Awards Competition.

The Call for Entries outlines the rules, fee, categories of competition and the submission process. Students must live in the chapter’s region to enter; the eligible counties are listed in the back of the Call for Entries document.  For more information on the Student Production Competition, visit the NATAS — Ohio Valley Chapter webpage.

The NATAS, best known for the coveted Emmy Award, is a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and related media and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry.

The March 22 deadline is quickly approaching for entering the annual art and scholarship competition called Doodle 4 Google. Now in its sixth year, the Doodle 4 Google Program is an annual competition open to students K-12 across the U.S.

Students are asked to create their own Google doodle around this year’s theme “My Best Day Ever…” The winning artist’s piece will be displayed on the Google homepage for millions to see, and the winner will receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for his or her school.

Entries are judged based on five different grade group levels. There will be a winner from each state for each grade group and of those five, one will be selected as the Doodle 4 Google state representative. He or she will then be eligible for the grand prize and travel to New York City on May 22 for the final awards ceremony alongside the other 49 state winners.

Entry forms can be downloaded from Google’s Doodle 4 Google site and completed doodles can be submitted by mail or online. Full classrooms and schools are encouraged to participate and an educator’s guide is also available. For details, including full contest rules and entry forms go to google.com/doodle4google.

The National Association of Elementary School Principal’s (NAESP) 3rd Annual Children’s Book Award Contest is an opportunity for children’s book authors to be published.

A children’s picture book winner and a children’s chapter book winner will each be named.

For more information go to the NAESP website, http://www.naesp.org/communicator-february-2013/here-s-your-chance-publish-children-s-book. Entries must be postmarked by March 15.

Doodle 4 Google is an annual competition for students, grades K-12, and is now open for submissions.

Students are asked to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign the Google homepage logo for millions to see. This year the theme is “My Best Day Ever…”

Fifty talented state finalists (one from each state) will be selected and travel to New York City to celebrate their achievements. The grand-prize winner will be decided by a public vote. The winner will get to see their doodle on the Google.com homepage and receives a $30,000 scholarship for college. Additionally, their school will receive a $50,000 technology grant. All 50 finalists will have their work displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and receive prizes for their talent and creativity. Submissions close March 22.  Learn more on the Doodle4Google website.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Creative Writing Contest: “Future World: How would you like to pay for that?” asks high school juniors and seniors to explain in an essay, play, short story or poem what future world looks like to them.

Submissions must be postmarked on or before Feb. 28. There are prizes available for students, teachers and schools. Go to http://www.clevelandfed.org/learning_centerfor more information and to get a student entry form. For more information, contact april.mcclellan-copeland@clev.frb.org at (216) 774-2756.

Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) is sponsoring an earthquake awareness poster contest for students in grades 3-5, and teachers can receive an Earthquake Awareness and Great ShakeOut toolkit. This resource provides teachers with a unique opportunity to educate students and families on how to prepare, protect and recover from earthquakes.

In the poster contest, one statewide winner from each grade level will receive an eReader, along with a certificate of achievement, and have their poster promoted across the state.

Classroom teachers are asked to present the “Earthquake Awareness and Great ShakeOut” lessons to students anytime during January or February 2013. All posters must be submitted to KYEMEQ@gmail.com by March 28, 2013, to be eligible.

Instructional unit can be downloaded free of charge at:

http://kyem.ky.gov/programs/Pages/Teachers.aspx

2012 winners and full contest details can be found at www.facebook.com/#!/KYEMPosterContest.

For more information, contact David M. Davis at (502) 607-5712.

Kentucky students in grades K-6 have a chance to win $1,500 toward college and $500 for their school in the “Dream Out Loud Challenge.” Students are invited to submit an original drawing, poem, essay or video answering the question: “How will I change the world after I go to college?”

The challenge, sponsored by the Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust (KESPT), is intended to remind families that it is never too early to start saving and planning for higher education. Six winning entries will be selected by a panel of judges. One winner will be chosen from each of two submission categories — drawing or video, and essay or poem — in grades K-2, grades 3-4 and grades 5-6. The winning students will receive a $1,500 KESPT college savings account, and their schools will win $500. The contest runs from Jan. 21 through March 22, 2013.

KESPT is Kentucky’s official college savings plan and is administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority and managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing. The plan helps parents, grandparents and others invest in a child’s future Continue Reading

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) — the nation’s highest honors for K-12 mathematics and science teachers.

The awards alternate annually between K-6 teachers and those in grades 7-12. The 2013 awards honor 7-12 mathematics and science teachers. Nominations can be made here.

The nomination deadline is April 1, 2013.