Contest Listings
Stuttering Resource
The DVD (in English and Spanish), Stuttering and Your Child: Help for Parents, helps parents detect stuttering and take action toward helping their child and is available free online at www.stutteringhelp.org. Produced by the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation of America, the film describes what kinds of stuttering young children may exhibit, how parents can help at home, and the role of a speech pathologist in evaluating and treating children who stutter.
Experts address common concerns that parents have about their child, such as how to help the child at home and whether to seek the advice of a speech pathologist. Strategies parents can use to help reduce stuttering are given throughout the DVD and include reducing the number of questions they ask the child, focusing on taking turns during conversations, and making time to read or talk with the child in a relaxed manner.
The DVD is available free to all public libraries. If your library doesn’t have it, ask them to contact the Stuttering Foundation toll-free at 800-992-9392 for a copy.
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Fourth Annual Smucker's Traditions Recipe and Essay Contest
This promotion invites entrants to share their favorite recipes made with Smucker's jams, jellies, preserves or fruit butters, plus a short essay about how the dish makes family celebrations special. Enter at www.smuckers.com between September 14 and November 23, 2011 for the opportunity to win a $20,000 family reunion. In March, 2012, five contest finalists will be selected and flown to New York City for a live recipe demonstration and judging.
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Science Competition
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision, the world’s largest K-12 science and technology competition is celebrating its 20th Anniversary, and is now accepting entries for 2012. Students research scientific principles and current technologies as the basis for designing inventions that could exist in 20 years. As the program has evolved over the past two decades, it continues to encourage excellence and motivate students in STEM disciplines.
Students on the four first-place winning teams will each receive a $10,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond valued at maturity. Students on second-place teams will each receive a $5,000 bond valued at maturity. The eight teams will also receive an expenses-paid trip with their families, mentor and coach to Washington, DC for a gala awards weekend in June 2012. Each of the 24 regional winning teams receives a Toshiba laptop for the school and each member of the regional winning teams will receive a Toshiba HD Camcorder. Applications are available at www.exploravision.org, and are due by February 1, 2012.
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FREE Vision Curriculum Guides
The Museum of Vision, a public service program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is offering FREE curriculum guides for parents and educators to teach young people about the connection between healthy eyes and a healthy body. The curriculum guide, Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body, is FREE and can be downloaded at www.museumofvision.org/education.
The Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body curriculum is designed for multiple uses, including classrooms and home schools. While the concepts in this curriculum can be appreciated by children of all ages, it is targeted to students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s has also created a website to provide accurate, timely and relevant eye health information, www.geteyesmart.org. Visitors can learn about eye diseases, conditions, risk factors and treatment options. Informative videos and interactive tools will help educate consumers about how to take care of their eyes at every age and all of the site’s content is reviewed by a team of ophthalmologists to ensure clinical accuracy.
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The JOHNSON’S® “Treasuring Everyday Joy” Campaign
JOHNSON’S® encourages parents nationwide to celebrate the everyday joy a baby brings to their lives. Parents, extended family and friends can “promise” to celebrate this everyday joy on the JOHNSON’S® Facebook page, Facebook.com/johnsons. With every promise taken, JOHNSON’S® will make a donation to the March of Dimes to help another family get the chance to treasure the everyday moments of joy that come with having a healthy baby.
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Celebrate the 60th Birthday of Sparky the Fire Dog
You may have seen the news about the 3-year-old boy in South Florida, Aiden Lindsey, who recently put out a small fire with his sippy cup after firefighters visited his school and educated him on what to do in the case of a fire emergency. In January, another preschooler from Staten Island was recognized after alerting his family about a blaze in the basement of their home. Three-year-old Christopher Cooke heard the smoke alarm sound in the basement and screamed “alarm, alarm, alarm” shaking his father until he woke up. Like Aiden, he also learned what to do in the case of a fire from school lessons.
These two recent incidents underscore just how important it to educate children about fire safety – even at such a young age. According to The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) research, children under five are one and a half times more likely to die in a home fire than the general public.
Sparky the Fire Dog (currently celebrating his 60th birthday) is the iconic spokesdog used by fire departments nationwide to communicate fire safety to kids and families. The NFPA and Sparky are offering a FREE activity kit to provide educational fun for familes and kids whether at a sleepover, afternoon playdate or on a rainy day, to teach them about fire safety.
The colorful and interactive Party Kit is available on www.sparky.org, with everything families need to throw a Sparky-themed party, including downloadable templates for coloring pages, decorations, invitations, iron-on t-shirt transfers and even floor graphics – not to mention instructions for party games like “Bucket Brigade” and “Pin the Badge on Sparky.” (Just click on the “Birthday Fun” link). NFPA also designed a special anniversary e-card just for Sparky’s birthday that children can send their friends and family.
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Student Aid Money for College
Students who plan to attend college can apply online through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) website as early as possible. To save time, the U.S. Department of Education recommends students first:
* Gather the documents they need.
* Print a FAFSA on the Web Worksheet.
* Apply for a PIN (personal identification number).
* Check their eligibility for federal student aid.
* Note important deadlines.
Federal financial aid is available for students attending two- or four-year public or private colleges, plus career or trade schools. The aid is intended to cover school expenses such as tuition, room and board, books, other supplies, and transportation. Most students receive aid based upon their financial need. Individual colleges and universities award financial aid for their students on a first come, first served basis.
Students can also receive financial aid in the form of grants, loans or work study. Grants include Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Loans include Federal Stafford Loans (made to students) and PLUS loans (made to parents).
There are also direct loans, Perkins Loans, and the Federal Family Education Loan. Work-study programs provide jobs, usually on campus, so students can help pay for educational expenses.
To find out about federal financial aid programs and your rights and responsibilities under these programs, read "Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid" from the Department of Education. You also can request a free paper copy by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at 1-800-4-FED-AID. The guide is available in English and Spanish. The FAFSA website is http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm.
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New Site Offers Educational Scholarships for Teens
ScholarGamers.com offers a unique opportunity for high school and college age students to acquire educational financing. Simple in concept and elaborate in reward, ScholarGamers.com is an innovative platform which offers students a chance to compete in various no-fee online games to win educational scholarships. The site is a sponsor-supported initiative developed by Holmdel, NJ-based Internet Sport Games Associates.
Any high school, trade school or college student aged 13 and up is eligible to register for the competition. ScholarGamers.com offers scholarships of up to $5,000, deposited into a 529 plan for each designated winner. Competitors are only eligible to win once. ScholarGamers.com will award a total of 128 scholarships in 2011.
For more information, please visit http://www.scholargamers.com/about-us.
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Box Tops for Education
There are a variety of ways that consumers can earn funds to benefit the local school of their choice. Learn all about it at: boxtops4education.com
Box Tops for Education currently has more than 90,000 K-8 schools enrolled in the program – with more than 250 participating brands, including Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Kleenex, Ziploc, Hefty, Juicy Juice, Avery, Welch’s, Land’O Lakes and Brita.
Thousands of schools have used that cash to purchase items such as computers, library books, art supplies and playground equipment. Schools can earn up to $80,000 per year to spend on anything they choose, by clipping Box Tops coupons from hundreds of products, shopping online through the Box Tops Marketplace and Reading Room, and purchasing items from My Class Essentials registries. To learn more about the program visit, www.btfe.com.
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Teacher Discounts
Along with classroom supplies and other learned goodies like books, numerous teacher discounts are offered nationwide, ranging from laptops and Photoshop to museum entry and cell phone plans. Gift Card Granny has compiled a list of 66 top-notch discounts spanning nine categories, both online and off. A sampling:
• The Container Store: The organizational aficionados provide a 15 percent discount on all items through the Organized Teacher Program. Register online for a free discount card to use for in-store and online purchases. If you visit a store, be sure to have your school ID.
• Borders: Register for the Classroom Discount Card, a program that entitles librarians and teachers 25-percent off most purchases. The discount is for those who teach preschool to high school and available in-store only.
• The Limited: Show a school ID or valid pay stub when you shop at any The Limited location and snag 15-percent off your entire order. The offer is good for all items on the racks, walls or tables. In other words, everything.
• Bose: The Bose offer is prime, particularly for those in need of sonic stimulation. Variable discounts are available on all music systems and accessories. Call the Customer Focused Development Team at 1-800-353-4027 for pricing and to place an order.
• Cell Phone Companies (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile): This discount is a tad tricky to redeem but can save loads on a personal cell phone bill, sometimes up to 20 percent a month. Visit your provider's business or discount portal and input your .edu e-mail address to check if your institution is registered. Example: Search "Verizon business discount" in an engine and click on the first result to check your discount or register.
• National Park Service: Show a valid school ID at a slew of National Park Service visitor centers across the nation and receive 15-percent off any purchase. The discount doesn't apply to park entry or camping fees.
The Gift Card Granny list provides information where a deal can be redeemed, how to register for certain reward programs and, of course, the extent of a discount. Rules and conditions change from store to store, yet nearly all of the 66 deals are available year-round for teachers of every brand, including elementary school, high school, university and home school. Download "The Complete List of 66 Teacher Discounts" to sooth these oft-neglected educators with something more rewarding than the routine "apple for teacher."
r centers across the nation and receive 15-percent off any purchase. The discount doesn't apply to park entry or camping fees.
The Gift Card Granny list provides information where a deal can be redeemed, how to register for certain reward programs and, of course, the extent of a discount. Rules and conditions change from store to store, yet nearly all of the 66 deals are available year-round for teachers of every brand, including elementary school, high school, university and home school. Download "The Complete List of 66 Teacher Discounts" to sooth these oft-neglected educators with something more rewarding than the routine "apple for teacher."
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