DECEMBER 2024 NATIONAL NEWS

This holiday season is the perfect opportunity for students to capture their holiday dishes and join in on the culinary fun! Enter the K12 National Cook-Off today!

Open to K12-powered students in grades 6-12.

In Round 1, students will submit an original recipe that includes the below criteria, plus three photographs and supporting information.

Round 1: Virtual - Create a dish that includes all of the following:

• a source of protein
• an ingredient that starts with the letter "B"
• an ingredient that adds crunch
• an ingredient that is liquid at room temperature
• a spice or herb that is not salt or pepper

Round 2: In-Person

• Five finalists will be selected to compete in-person at the Kitchen of Purpose in Arlington, VA, on June 6, 2025, for a live cook-off battle!

Meet the K12 National Cook-Off celebrity judges!

Chef Isabell Coss

Chef Adam Hoffa

Cash prizes will be awarded to the 1st place and People’s Choice winners!

Registration is open from November 13 - February 18, 2025

Learn more and submit your recipe for Round 1 by visiting: K12 National Cook-Off - K12 Enrichment

Registration for the K12 Robotics League will close on December 16, 2024.

The K12 Robotics League is open to K12-powered students in grades 4-12.

Team Instructor/Schools will register students in teams of 1-3 students and purchase the Cogmation software for the K12 Robotics League.

To learn more and to register please visit: Robotics Competition - K12 Enrichment

We invite all new instructors, or those just looking for a refresher, to attend the New Instructors + Q&A Information Sesson on December 19, 2024 at 3PM ET.

Please register here: https://k12.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErce2rpj0iGtCgPc0rLDdXmaFGDfRlVbMz

Registration for K12 Game On is now closed. Thank you for your entries!

Students in Round 2 will submit a more detailed proposal of their educational video game idea.

Round 2 Proposals are due by December 9, 2024. Entrants advancing to Round 3 in K12 Game On will be notified via email the week of December 16, 2024.

For more information please visit: Game On K12 - K12 Enrichment

The K12 National Competiton Student Winners website highlights the national winners from previous K12 competitions. Watch all of the excitement and help celebrate these incredible achievements!

Visit:Competition Winners Homepage - K12 Enrichment

Learn all about the Florida state marine mammal – the manatee! Discover the role Clearwater Marine Aquarium plays in the rescue and protection of this majestic species.

DATE: December 11, 2024

TIME: 2:30 PM ET

Click here to register!

Osa Conservation is located in the Costa Rican Rainforest in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet! They work on numerous projects to protect wildlife and plants that include sea turtle hatcheries, camera traps to spy on wildlife, growing rare rainforest plants, and much more! Join us for a live tour of the rainforest research station and meet some cool researchers and see what they get up to.

DATE: December 18, 2024

TIME: 12:00 PM ET

Click here to register!

Want more from the K12 Virtual Field Trips? Check out the K12 Virtual Field Trips Newsletter to watch past virtual field trips, learn about upcoming virtual field trips, and sign-up for future ones!

Virtual Field Trips | Smore Newsletters or visit Virtual Field Trips - K12 Enrichment

It's time to embrace the magic of the seasons! In this build challenge, we're inviting you to capture the essence of the changing seasons, whether it's the crisp air and golden landscapes, or snow-dusted scenes and festive cheer.

Show off your Minecraft skills with a build that celebrates the beauty each season brings, and your build could win you a $25 Amazon e-gift card!

This K12 Minecraft build challenge is open from November 21, 2024 - January 16, 2025

Submit you build today here: K12 Minecraft Challenge - Signifying Seasons

The K12 Esports League is wrapping up its Fall season as players across the country compete for the title of League Champions. Teams have battled it out all semester to showcase their skills and represent their schools at the highest level.

Think you have what it takes?

Join us for the Spring season, kicking off on January 13, 2025!

Check with your school staff to see if your school has an esports team. Please note that not all schools have esports teams, and participants must be 13 or older to join.

Games featured in the K12 Esports League:

- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: 3-Player Crew Battles

- VALORANT: 5v5

- Chess: Single Player

- Rocket League: 3v3

- Fortnite: Builds/Squads (Teams of 4)

For more information, reach out to a staff member at your school and ask about the K12 Esports League.

Help us tell the story of your great students and families! Please send this around to your staff and encourage them to put stories into Elevate, Stride/K12’s media gathering tool. Stories can be anything related to:

• Students who are athletes, scientists, students who have their own businesses, authors, etc.
• Students who use your great schools to overcome the odds – illness, bullying, etc.
• Families who are school advocates and would be great discussing what you do with the local media.
• Any cool school events – Capitol Day, field trips, etc
• Themes – anything around national days like Hispanic Hertiage Month, MLK, Mental Wellness Month (Jan.) Black History Month (Feb.) Reading Month (Mar.), and more.

There are no wrong answers so send us your stories and help us promote your students today!

Helping Your Child Succeed - Three Parenting Styles - December 11, 2024 - 2:00pm

Register for the upcoming session by clicking here.

We are excited to launch our SY 24-25 LC Mental Health Series in partnership with the Cook Center and ParentGuidance.org. Intended audience is all parents and faculty are welcome to attend as well.

The multievent registration page for the school year is located here:

Webinar-Mental-Health-Series-Cook-Center-Sessions.pdf (widen.net)

We are excited to announce the Learning Coach Community is now open! The Learning Coach Community is a one-stop-shop online community available to ALL K12 Learning Coaches. In the community, LC's can receive support (either as a returning or first-time LC's), access resources for students, find tips and tools for online school, and more. Ready to connect with other families learning from home?

Go to community.k12.com to get started!

We are so excited to announce we have a Stride K12 Student Engagement Instagram Channel! You can find us @k12.student

This channel is meant to share about student engagement opportunities, as well as showcase student talent and elevate student voices to feel seen and heard! This channel is for our students to follow and connect with one another, as well as see what fun things we have happening!

You can also follow us on Threads! Our Threads account is a light-hearted channel sharing positive messages, joke, and K12 national competitions and virtual field trips events. You can us find at k12.student. Follow us today!

Follow us on Facebook! The K12 Student Engagement Facebook page highlights exciting competitions, challenges, and national student winners. You can also watch live-streams of winner reveals and K12 Virtual Field Trips. You can find us at K12 Student Engagement. Follow us today!

Stride is partnering with the American Public University (APU), a higher education institution that provides affordable, high-quality, workforce-relevant, online education, to offer all K12-powered school graduates a 10% off tuition grant - bringing the cost to just $315 per credit hour for undergraduates on over 200 online degree and certificate programs.

APU delivers flexible, affordable education with monthly start dates to connect you to your future faster and provide the skills you need to go further.

• $0 cost textbooks/ebooks for undergraduate classes
• $0 application fee
• No entrance exams

Students can request more information from APU at https://apupartners.com/stride

Wondering when your course materials and hardware will arrive? Look no further! You can find your school’s shipping timeline by following these steps:

1. Visit the School Shipping Timeline Directory: Head over to the School Shipping Timeline Directory to locate your school’s specific shipping schedule.
2. Search by State: Use the directory to search by state. Find your state, and you’ll see a list of schools along with estimated delivery deadlines for course materials and hardware.
3. Track Shipping Status: If you’ve already confirmed your enrollment status, click on the link provided in the directory to track the shipping status of your materials and computer equipment.

Remember that if your school isn’t listed in the directory, allow approximately 7-10 business days after courses have been assigned for your order shipments to arrive.

If you need help with the Online School, Materials, or need to troubleshoot a technical problem, try out the new AI Assistant on help.k12.com! The AI Assistant can help you by popping relevant articles and videos to answer your questions and fix common issues.

Did you know you can text a live Customer Support agent for help with questions about Materials and replacements? Text your Student ID to 800-255-2020 Text Messages may vary. Data rates may apply. Click here if you need help looking up your Student ID