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Student
Creative Story Contest FAQs
Who can enter? Students who are 18 years old and under can enter the contest. The February contest is only for students who fit into the "regular" or "outside experience" categories of the National Spanish exam. Students who fit into the "bilingual" category cannot enter this contest.
Can homeschoolers enter? Sure! We consider homeschooling parents as teachers. The 5 story minimum still applies, though.
How many students will be in the contest? We can't really say. It will depend on how many register. We count stories, not necessarily individual students. The more stories a student enters, the better their chance of winning. Last year there were more than 200 stories entered.
Are all the contests for only Spanish students? At this time, yes, but we'll add more languages at a later date. Join our contest mailing list and stay informed of upcoming contests.
How do I enter my students? Go to the main contest page and use the PayPal button to pay for the total number of stories you are going to enter. Or call and pay for them over the phone.
Do I have to know exactly which students are going to write stories when I register? No, you pay for how many entires you'll send in. We won't need to know which students are writing those until we receive the entries. You can even have your own classroom contest to decide whose stories will fill the spaces you've purchased or you can wait until you've collected the stories to register, as long as the registration fee is paid by February 28, 2013.
Can my students enter on their own? No. Because of the low entry fee cost, we cannot accept individual entries. We accept entries only in multiples of 5. We also need to have an adult contact to work with.
Can a parent enter their child's stories? Certainly! If a parent would rather pay the registration fee directly, they are more than welcome to do that. We can only accept entries in multiples of 5, though. The child can write 5 different stories for the contest or "give" their extra registrations to a friend, as long as all entries are submitted by the adult in one attachment according to the submission instructions.
Are there different levels in this contest? No. There is only one level in the February 2013 contest. Remember, we're looking for creativity more than structural complexity.
What are the 3 structures going to be? We will not announce the 3 structures until the start date and time of the contest. They will be common structures that will open the door for many variations of stories. When announced, the structures will be here.
What do you mean when you say "structures"? A structure is a meaningful chunk of the language. Structures are essentially grammatical points that are used in a sentence context. Examples are: "want to go," "have to study," "need to eat." "Has," "is," and "goes to" are also examples of structures that could possibly be one of the structures chosen.
Do the students have to use all 3 structures? Yes. All 3 structures must be used and must be an integral part of the story.
Can students write their stories before the contest begins? No. The stories must be written during the contest dates. This ensures that all stories are built around the same 3 structures. We're looking for creativity so if all the entries have to use the same 3 structures, the most creative entries will stand out.
Can I as a teacher help the student with their story? No. Teachers are not allowed to help the students. However, teachers may teach lessons in class to all their students that include practice in using the 3 structures during the month of the contest. Individual help, though, is not allowed. Teachers are also encouraged to have their own class competition to select which stories will fill their registrations.
What are the prizes? If there are fewer than 300 entries, 1st prize will be $50, 2nd prize will be $25, and 3rd prize will be $10. If we receive over 300 story entries, 1st prize will be $100, 2nd prize will be $50, and 3rd prize will be $20. As soon as we receive our 300th entry, we'll update the website to reflect these new prize levels. Seven more entries will be chosen as Honorable Mention winners and will receive a special certificate.
Do the winners receive certificates? Yes, the top 10 places will receive special certificates to commemorate their achievements.
Do the other participants receive certificates? Yes, the registering teachers will be e-mailed a certificate form that can be printed out and given to all participants in the contest.
Will CP send a press release to our newspaper if my student wins? Yes. We will be happy to provide your local newspaper with a press release congratulating both your student and you as their teacher. Instructions on this will be included in the registration packet the teacher receives after we confirm the entry fee payment.
When can I enter my students in the next contest? Registration for the Spanish 2013 contest will be from February 1, 2013 to February 28, 2013.
What can I as a teacher win? The teachers of the top 3 winners will win a Webinar Ultimate Pass (valued at $90) that is good for 12 free webinars.
Can I as a teacher enter the contest? Not yet. We hope to offer a regular creative story writing contest for adults in the near future. Subscribe to our contest newsletter to stay up to date with additional contests.
Can I send you a PO from our school to pay the entry fees? Yes, as long as it is received before the registration deadline. See the bottom of the main contest page for fax information.
Can I submit the stories by fax? No. The only way to submit them is as an attachment to an e-mail. Specific instructures for submission are included in the Full Rules and in the entry packet ..
Will I receive a confirmation that our entries were received on time? Yes, we'll confirm that we've received your entries by e-mail. Please add chalkbrd@hoosierlink.net to your safe list to make sure you receive our confirmation e-mail. This will not be an automated confirmation so if you submit it at night, it might be several hours before we can confirm it. Near the end, we will try to confirm as quickly as we can.
I want to enter 7 stories. Can I just pay a $7 entry fee? No, all entry fees are in increments of $5. If you are entering 7 stories, you will need to pay $10. We suggest you encourage 3 more students to enter their stories so you can utilize your full entry fee.
When will the winners be announced? Unless we have some unforeseen circumstances, we are anticipating the winners announcement to be made on or before April 15, 2013 for the February 2013 contest.
Where will the winners be announced? We will send an e-mail to all participating teachers with the winners' names (to protect students' identities, we will send their first names and last initial and the school they are from). The top 10 winning stories will be posted on our website and the winners will be identified the same way, along with city, state and the teacher's name. If students prefer to have their full names listed, we'll be happy to do that, but the student's teacher will need to have a parental permission slip signed and send it to us. We'll also be happy to add a student photo with their story, but again, we'll need to have parental permission for that.
I don't understand something or I have a question that is not answered by the FAQs and Full Rules. What can I do? Please contact us at chalkbrd@hoosierlink.net and we'll try to answer whatever questions you have.
Now registering for the Spanish February 2013 Contest!
Registration
deadline is:
Noon Eastern Time
February 28, 2013
Contest
begins:
Noon Eastern Time
February 1, 2013
If we receive more than 300 stories, the cash prizes will double!