Info from Mrs. Fisher for 3-5 OBOB teams

Dear Parents,

Our school is excited to have 10 teams participating in our local Battle of the Books trivia challenge! Our 3rd through 5th graders have been reading lots and meeting with their teams to get ready for this event. The battles are happening the first 2 weeks in February during the lunch hour in the library. Each team will battle 2 different days. A battle is 16 questions. The team with the most total points after 2 battles will advance to the regional level of competition, which takes place on a Saturday morning in March. We will announce our school's winning team on Friday afternoon, February 13th.

What you can be doing now to help your child is reviewing the list of books and their authors. The first 8 questions are called "in which book." It might ask, in which book does a character strap on fake footprints? The team has 15 seconds to whisper together and answer, Sasquatch by Roland Smith. It's perfectly fine if a student has only read a few books, because they can all memorize the title and author list and be a great help to their team!  During our first local battles, we will have students take turns answering the question as their team spokesperson.  You can also be reading these books with your child! Read to them, take turns reading, listen to the books in an audio format, and enjoy the stories! There are practice questions for the students to review to help remember the details of the  stories. 

Our goals for the Battle of the Books include fostering a love of reading, widening the circle of books that students read, and fostering teamwork. We appreciate your help in reinforcing these aspects of the reading program with your child.

The schedule for the battles is posted at school. Ask your child what two days his or her team is battling and tell your child that you are proud of him or her for being part of this event! Thank you for encouraging and supporting the love of. Reading.

Truly,

Nancy Fisher

Oregon Battle of the Books helper

Check out this Drive2Life Contest open to grades 6-12

2015 Drive2Life Student PSA Contest

Open to Students in Grades 6–12

Students in grades 6–12 can help promote pedestrian safety by entering the 2015 Drive2Life Contest.

Contest Topic: Help prevent distracted walking

How to Enter

To enter, each participating student must create a storyboard or written script for a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) to help prevent distracted walking.

One Grand Prize winner will win $1,000 and a trip to NYC to have his or her PSA filmed professionally. Plus, the winner and PSA video will be featured on Teen Kids News and in select Scholastic magazines! See the Prizes section below for more details.

Click here for complete details on the contest and how to enter:

• Contest Entry Form
• Official Rules

Contest Overview

• Entries must be storyboards or written scripts that illustrate the PSA topic—preventing distracted walking—and should be 30 seconds in length.
• Videos will not be accepted.
• Individual entries only—no group entries are permitted.
• Each entry must have a completed and signed contest entry form securely attached to it. Download the entry form above. (Note: You may want to print and complete the teacher portion of the form before copying the entry form for students.)
• Online submissions are not permitted.
• Entries with completed entry forms must be mailed to: Drive2Life Contest, Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, Office 519, New York, NY 10012.

Contest Deadline

Entries must be postmarked by February 10, 2015, and received by February 24, 2015.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Originality and creativity (30 points) (Is the PSA unique and creative?)
2. PSA concept (30 points) (Does the PSA clearly and accurately address the contest topic—preventing distracted walking? Are the message and concept effective?)
3. Clarity of message (30 points) (Is the idea communicated clearly? Is the PSA well organized?)
4. Quality of writing (10 points) (Does the PSA reflect proper spelling and grammar?)

Prizes

The Grand Prize winner receives $1,000 and a trip to New York City, where a professional film crew will transform the student’s vision into a 30-second commercial! Four runners-up (two from grades 6–8 and two from grades 9–12) each will receive $500.

The teacher of each student winner will receive a classroom subscription to a relevant Scholastic magazine (30 student editions and one teacher’s guide) for the 2015–2016 school year.

See Official Rules for details. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Winners' List

For a list of winners (available after April 1, 2015), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Drive2Life Winners’ List, Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, Office 519, New York, NY 10012.