This presentation gives an overview of some of the educational competitions that are offered to children and youth.

1. by Maria de Jesus Dixon
Parent Coordinator of HUS Spelling Bee
Region V Title 1 Conference - Milwaukee, WI
March 9, 2012 – Walker Room

2. What we will cover today
The Scripps Spelling Bee
The Geography Bee
MathCounts
The National Middle School Science Bowl
Funding Ideas
Questions

3. The Scripps Spelling Bee
URL – www.spellingbee.com
Purpose – To help students improve their
spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn
concepts, and develop correct English usage
that will help them all their lives.
Cost - $109 per school & then $85 for the
Regional Bee

4. The Geography Bee
• URL - www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/
• Purpose - The National Geographic Bee, an
educational program of the National Geographic
Society, is a nationwide geography competition for
U.S. schools with any grades four through eight,
designed to encourage the teaching and study of
geography.
• Cost - $90 per school; $110 after October 15th and there
is a donation page on the website.

5. MathCounts
• URL – www.mathcounts.org
• Purpose – The MATHCOUNTS Competition is
a national middle school coaching and competitive
mathematics program that promotes mathematics
achievement through a series of fun and engaging
"bee" style contests.
• Cost - $90 per team, $25 per individual OR Title 1 Cost
- $40 per team, $10 per individual

6. MathCounts – cont’d
In the Sprint Round, contestants solve a written exam
consisting of 30 problems with a time limit of 40 minutes.
There are no penalties for incorrect answers.
Calculators are not permitted, and contestants work
individually.
Questions in the Sprint Round are usually the easiest
problems in the written individual contests because the
Sprint Round tests contestants' ability to solve problems
within a tight time constraints. The problems get harder
from the first question to the last.
Sprint round questions are worth one point each. A good
score ranges between 20 and 30.

7. MathCounts – cont’d
The Target Round contains four, two-problem mini-exams, for
which six minutes are allowed per pair.
Calculators may be used during this round.
The problems in the Target Round are usually more difficult
than most of the problems in the Sprint Round. In the pairs,
one question tends to be a "confidence booster" and another a
challenging problem.
Each problem is worth two points.
The mini-exams tend to get harder as the round progresses,
with the first mini-exam having the easier problems and the last
mini-exam having the hardest problems.
A good score ranges between 12 and 16.
Calculators are permitted, and contestants work individually.

8. MathCounts – cont’d
 The Team Round is a ten question exam for which twenty minutes
are allotted.
 Calculators are allowed, and up to four teammates take the
examination as a group.
 In this round, contestants are allowed to discuss the problems within
the team. These problems are typically more difficult than the
individual round problems, so that it would be difficult for a single
contestant to solve all of them alone within the available time.
 Each question is worth 2 points for the team score, and are added to
the average of the four individual scores in order to determine the
winning team. A good score ranges between 6 and 10.

9. MathCounts – cont’d
Two contestants compete face to face in the
countdown round.
A problem is posted on a projector, and the two
contestants race to finish the problem (with pencil
and paper).
Upon finishing the problem, a contestant is expected
to press his/her buzzer.
The first person to buzz in with the correct answer
gains a point.

10. The National Science Bowl
• URL - http://science.energy.gov/nsb/
• Purpose – The National Science Bowl is designed to get
young students interested in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (STEM). It is made to do this in a
fun way and designed in a fashion similar to that of a
sporting competition. The Science Bowl gets students
excited about STEM and interested in learning more about
the fields.
• Cost – ?

11. Funding Ideas
School’s PTA/PTO/PSO/PSA
Local Business Sponsorship
Local Newspaper Sponsorship
Colleges and Universities
Booster Clubs
Competition led fundraiser
Others ???

13. Fun Facts – Scripps Spelling Bee
Ohio – 1927, 1933, 1935, 1948, 1949, 1964 & 2010
Indiana – 1928, 2004, 2008
Illinois – 1931, 1985
Florida – 1996, 1999
Michigan – 1941
Wisconsin – 1991
Minnesota - 2001

14. Fun Facts – Geography Bee
Michigan – 1993, 1995, 1998, 2002
Minnesota - 2005
Illinois – 2006
Florida - 2010

15. Fun Facts - MathCounts
Illinois – 1988, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004
Wisconsin – 1997, 1999
Florida – 1986
Ohio – 1992
Indiana - 2010

16. Fun Facts – National Middle School
Science Bowl
2003 – Florida: Solar Car Competition
2004 – Florida: Academic Competition
2005, 2006, 2007 – Indiana: Academic competition
2006 – Illinois: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Competition

17. Geography Bee Sample Questions
Which state has a climate suitable for growing citrus
fruits—California or Maine?
Which country has the world's largest Muslim
population—Indonesia or Mexico?
The North Atlantic current brings warm waters from
the tropics to the west coast of which continent?

18. Geography Bee Sample Questions
What is the term for a part of an ocean or sea that
cuts far into the bordering landmass and may contain
one or more bays?
Which Canadian province produces more than half of
the country's manufactured goods?
To visit the ruins of Persepolis, an ancient ceremonial
capital of Persia, you would have to travel to what
present-day country?

19. MathCounts Sample Question
 A Sprint copier can copy 2400
pages in 60 minutes. At this
rate, how many minutes will it
take for a Sprint copier to copy
120 pages?

20. Science Bowl Sample Questions
 TOSS-UP
PHYSICAL SCIENCE (Short Answer) What physical state of matter is
intermediate between a solid and gas?
ANSWER:
 BONUS
PHYSICAL SCIENCE (Multiple Choice) Which of the following BEST
describes the term static:
W) stationary
X) low
Y) constant
Z) used
ANSWER:

21. Contact Information
Email is the best way to reach me
– mdjdixon@yahoo.com or find me
on LinkedIn at:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/maria-de-jesus-dixon/9/bbb/5b9