Monthly Newsletter

Women and minorities remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) fields. With the support of the Walton Family Foundation and the DaRin Butz Foundation, we hope to change that by engaging and empowering our Soaring High Explorers to seek out and succeed in STEAM fields. In Summer 2023, we’ll hold our fifth annual S.H.E. Can STEAM Summer Camp, serving local and underrepresented communities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and Arkansas. Select this link to learn more.

Deadline: April 30, 2021

Do you listen to podcasts? Do you tune in to find out what’s happening in the world? To stay up-to-date on sports, music or film? To get advice? To laugh? To hear a good story? To learn something new?

Imagine you — or you and several of your friends — were behind the microphone. What would you talk about? Who might you like to interview? What thoughts, talents, insights or opinions would you want to share with the world?In our Sixth Annual Podcast Contest, we invite teenagers to submit original podcasts of five minutes or less. Your creation can be about anything that interests you, in any form that you like. Our favorites will be featured on The Learning Network.

Take a look at the guidelines and related resources below. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.

Contest runs April 18th-May 17th. Select this link to learn more or enter the contest.

The Games for Change Student Challenge invites students to make video games about real-world issues and community impact themes. The Games for Change Student Challenge is the leading national game design program that combines students’ passion for games with digital learning and civic engagement. Select this link to learn more.

Deadline: April 18th, 2023

Students are invited to create a short video that defines or teaches any of the words in our Word of the Day collection.

Contest dates: Feb. 15-March 15, 2023.

Select this link to learn more.

The annual Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge invites students in grades 5-8 to submit a 1-2 minute video describing a unique solution to an everyday problem for the chance to win $25,000 and an exclusive 3M Mentorship. Ten finalists will be chosen for their passion for science, spirit of innovation and ingenuity, and effective communication skills.

Deadline: April 27th, 2023.

For more information on this contest, click here.

Mark Talaga helps parents understand the  “why” outside of the psychological reasons games are so alluring. Come discuss the “how” when it comes to helping your kids use these skills outside of gaming. Select this link to register.

Online Discussion: Mar 28, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Researchers, teachers, clinicians share their expertise on meeting the needs of twice-exceptional students at school & home. Parent sessions are available.

When? Feb. 24th-25th (Cost involved)

Select this link to learn more.

The annual contest where students (grades K-12) enter a doodle based on a theme. The theme for 2023 is:  “I am grateful for.” Awesome prizes include scholarships, Google hardware, and Google swag. Select this link to learn more.

Deadline: March 7th, 2023

Video contest where students use film as a tool to discuss human rights issues that resonate with them. Select this link to learn more.

Deadline: April 26, 2023

Have a great idea? Or, a better way to do something? The National Museum of Education is looking for creative students (PreK-12+College)!Enter any idea for a new way to demonstrate an educational concept, an idea for a new product, or an improvement for an existing product or procedure. Monetary prizes are awarded each month! This is an ongoing contest and there is no deadline!

*Winning entries are National winners*  You are also then eligible to apply for induction into the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors.

Deadline: Ongoing

Select this link to apply

NCSC’s Civics Education Essay Contest gives 3rd-12th grade students the opportunity to understand and explain the importance and the role of the United States government.The contest question is based on the American Bar Association’s annual Law Day theme, which in 2023 is “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.”

Submissions will be accepted in February 2023.

Check here for more details on the contest question, rules, and deadlines.

1. Recognize the contribution(s) of a woman and/or non-white engineer to one of the 20 Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century, or to more recent improvements to one of those achievements.
2. Imagine how new innovations in the field will be different as more women and non-white engineers are involved in designing solutions.
3. Use a specific example from your own experience or community to express the importance of different perspectives, and explain how diverse engineers can lead to better solutions.

Middle school student essays must be no more than 700 words. You may also include a reference list of up to 5 resources, but this is not required. Each resource should be listed using the APA citation style. The reference list does not count toward your essay’s word count.

Deadline: February 1, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. 

For more information, please click here.

The 3M Young Scientist Challenge is the nation’s premier science competition for grades 5-8. This one-of-a-kind video competition has sparked a sense of wonder and discovery in hundreds of thousands of students and enhanced science, innovation and communication across the United States.

The challenge opens December 17th and important dates can be found here.

For additional information, check out their website here.

StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation.This year, we’re asking students in grades 6-12 to create a short (5-6 minute) video documentary on a topic that relates to the competition theme, “If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issue would be your first priority and why?”

The submission deadline for all entries is Friday, January 20, 2023. 

For more information, please click here.

NASA’S Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia is inviting students in grades K-12 to draw, paint or design what’s next in science, aeronautics, and exploration in the 2023 NASA Langley Student Art Contest. The contest is open to all children grades K-12 attending public, private, parochial and homeschools who are residents of the United States.

The Art Contest submission period begins on December 1, 2022, and concludes on  December 31, 2022, at midnight EST.

For more information, please click here.

The Virginia Department of Aviation runs the Virginia Aviation Art Contest each year.  This contest is a part of the International Aviation Art Contest offered by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and open to students ages 6 through 17.  Each year a theme is selected and the contest is conducted around the world.

The theme for the 2023 International Aviation Art Contest is Air Sports and the Environment.

Eligibility: All children in the age groups shown on the contest brochure (ages 6-17) are encouraged to participate in the contest, even if they are related to officials or employees of the FAI or any of its member organizations.

Mediums accepted: watercolor, acrylic, oil paint, indelible marker pens, felt-tip pens, soft ball-point pens, indelible ink, Crayola or similar.

Deadline: January 10, 2023

More info: https://doav.virginia.gov/programs-and-services/education/art_contest/

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke up for people who were being treated unfairly. Dr. King explained that it is our responsibility to do something when we see someone being treated unfairly because of their race, skin color or other identity, even if those people are not like us. He believed we should care about fairness for everyone. In his renowned essay “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” If we don’t speak up for all people who are treated unfairly, it has a negative effect on us all.

Prompt

Describe in writing or visual art a time where you saw someone treated unfairly because of what they looked like or who they were; OR an event in history where people were treated unfairly because of what they looked like or who they were.

Eligibility

You must be a resident of Arlington County or enrolled in APS.

• You must be in grade Kindergarten through 12.

Awards

Two awards will be given in each group:

• Grades K, 1 and 2
• Grades 3, 4, 5
• Grades 6, 7, 8
• Grades 9, 10, 11, 12

Each group will have two first-place winners and two runners-up in each category: Literary Arts Achievement (Writing or Poetry) and Visual Arts AchievementWinners will be announced on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Students will be recognized by the Superintendent and members of the School Board on Thursday, Jan. 19 at the beginning of the School Board meeting.

Submissions

• Email your entry to mlkentries@apsva.us; include the form information, and the essay or poem as an attachment. More Information & Form Download

OR

• Drop off your entry with this form attached at an APS school in the front office, or at the Syphax building 1st floor Welcome Center, 2110 Washington Blvd.

For more information please contact Dawn Smith, Volunteer, Partnership and Events Manager, at 703-228-2581 or at mlkentries@apsva.us

Due Date: November 19th, 2022 by 5:00 p.m.

The 3M Young Scientist Challenge is the nation’s premier science competition for grades 5-8. This one-of-a-kind video competition has sparked a sense of wonder and discovery in hundreds of thousands of students and enhanced science, innovation and communication across the United States. The challenge opens December 17th and important dates can be found here.

For additional information, check out their website here.

FPSPI is a dynamic international program involving thousands of students annually from around the world. Developed in 1974 by creativity pioneer Dr. E. Paul Torrance, Future Problem Solving (FPS) provides competitive and non-competitive components for today’s curriculum via a six-step model which teaches critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. Coaches and Teachers can teach the FPS process to their students in a classroom setting, in an after-school program, and at home for home-schoolers.

For more information on their competitions, check out their website here.

Contest Topic

Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a US elected official who served during or after 1917.

To learn more about political courage, visit Contest Information and FAQs.All submissions must adhere to contest requirements.

Contest DeadlineThe Profile in Courage Essay Contest opens for submissions on September 1, 2022. The contest deadline is January 13, 2023.

Recognition and Awards

First-place: $10,000

Second-place: $3,000

Five Finalists: $1,000 each

Eight Semi-finalists: $100 each

SEP is an academically challenging program with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning for students. The program is not meant to supplant the regular school curriculum; rather, it recognizes the importance of allowing able youngsters to explore additional specialized areas of science, mathematics, humanities, and arts. Course activities are compatible with the expected achievement of talented students at specific grade and age levels.  Fall 2022 brochure available here.

Registration: Open now. Select this link.

Fall On-Campus Super Saturday I: October 15, 2022

Fall On-Campus Super Saturday II: October 22, 2022

Fall Virtual SEP: November 5, 12, 19, 2022

The purpose of the Art Song Composition Award is to simulate the creation of quality vocal literature through the cooperation of singer and composer.  Select this link to learn more about the guidelines to enter the competition.

Deadline to apply: December 1, 2022

Scope is packed with contests to get your students excited about writing. And they can win awesome prizes! On this page find information about our current contests, including entry forms and deadlines. Select this link to learn more.

Deadline: October 17, 2022