FEBRUARY 2025 NATIONAL NEWS

The K12 National Cook-Off is open for registration until February 18, at 5 PM ET. Be sure to register before it's too late! 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

Tune into the K12 Game On Winners Reveal video airing on February 5, 2025 at 5PM ET on the K12 Game On website: Game On K12 - K12 Enrichment to find out the winners of K12 Game On!

Each grade band will have two winners, one selected by the judges and one People's Choice winner determined through public voting.

Winners will be notified via email on February 5 after the video announcement airs.

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

The Initial Round Qualifier wrapped up on January 28 and was designed for students to become familiar with the Robotics Virtual Games (RVG) platform, submitting scores, and completing the challenge for their grade band. During this time students submitted individual scores.

The First Round Qualifier opens February 24- February 28, and all K12 Robotics League students are eligible to compete in the First Round Qualifier. Students will be able to submit scores as a team during this round. The top 10 qualifying teams in each grade band will be eligible to compete in the Second Round Qualifier in March.

Should you have any questions about registration for the K12 Robotics League, please send an email to competitions@stridelearning.com.

For more details please visit: Robotics Competition - 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

Dive into the vibrant world of Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, Spain's master of light. This exciting exhibition, brought to you in partnership with the Norton Museum of Art, showcases 40 of his stunning paintings, capturing the beauty of the Mediterranean coast and the lively Spanish life. Don't miss this chance to explore the rich culture and traditions of early 20th-century Spain, all from the comfort of home!

Date/Time: February 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET

Click here to register!

Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing presents a critical look at the sport of boxing through a variety of artistic media. Featuring over 100 artworks spanning from the late 19th century to present day, this dynamic presentation is the largest comprehensive survey of artwork depicting the global sport and its cultural impact. Strike Fast, Dance Lightly illuminates the connections between boxing and artists and underscores the rich history of a centuries-old sport and its influence on artistic movements. We encourage 6-12th grade students to attend this session.

Date/Time: February 12, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET

Click here to register!

Get to know the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s finned companions! 🐟 Discover the colorful characters of the ocean, from playful clownfish to majestic lionfish, as we unveil the underwater tapestry that calls our aquarium home. 🌊 Open to all students in grades K-12!

Date/Time: February 19, 2025 at 2:30 PM ET

Click here to register!

Join us and Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants for a virtual field trip to the Florida Keys to meet the sea turtles who are patients of the Turtle Hospital. They rescue and rehabilitate injured and sick sea turtles with a goal of releasing them back into the wild. For those that can't be released, they can find a forever home at the hospital. The most common patients are green, hawksbill and loggerhead sea turtles and they range in size from babies that can fit in your hand to adults that would fill your kitchen table!

Date/Time: February 26, 2025 at 1:00 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

Check out a featured learning game in the K12 Skills Arcade!

MathBee helps students practice their multiplication and division facts, solve simple equations, compare fractions and decimals, and so much more – al while earning coins to buy custom outfits for their bees. 🐝➕ Join the fun at https://www.K12.com/K12-skills-arcade/. Mobile version coming in February

K12 Zone has new features and avatars! Jump in the Zone and start using them today.

Get ready to unleash your creativity in the K12 Minecraft Room to Read Build Challenge! From February 12th to April 2nd, K12-powered students in grades K-12 are invited to submit their reading or book-related Minecraft builds just in time for National Reading Month! Show off your building skills and your love for books!

One winner per grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12) will receive a $25 Amazon e-gift card for their winning build!

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to combine your passion for reading and Minecraft. Start building and submit your entry today! K12 Room to Read Minecraft Challenge

The K12 Esports League Spring season playoffs is coming up later this month! Who will be crowned champion?

Check out all the playoff action streamed LIVE on: www.twitch.tv/stride_esports_league

Cheer on your fellow K12 Online School students and watch some incredible gameplay! Playoffs start on Monday, February 24th.

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

National K12 Employment Expo

Date: Friday, February 21, 2025

Time: 12-4 PM ET

Target Audience: Juniors & Seniors ONLY

Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3CrNGEX

The Employment Expo bridges the gap between education and the workforce, empowering students to see the real-world applications of their studies and start planning for a successful future. On February 21st, join us for the K12 National Employment Expo, where students can connect with leading industry partners, including AgCareers, Publix, Zurich, and Atlas Copco.

Encourage your students to attend and take the first step toward a bright future. Don’t miss this chance to turn career dreams into actionable plans!

The Confident Teen Podcast - Career Exploration Series

Date: Friday, February 14, 2025

Time: 3:00 PM ET

Target Audience: High school students

Registration Link: TheConfidentTeen

Interested in the Business & Marketing career clusters? We got you! In this episode, we dive into the exciting world of business and marketing careers, exploring everything from entrepreneurship to social media roles. Discover what it takes to make it big and get inspired by real professionals in the field.

Nursing Explorers

Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Time: 6:00 PM ET

Target Audience: High School students

Register here: Register Now!

Join us as we chat with Dr. Cynthia Samuel, a dedicated school nurse, to uncover practical tips for staying well. Dr. Samuel will also share how her role as a school nurse differs from working in a hospital and how her approach to wellness impacts her work with students.

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025

Time: 12:00pm - 1:00 PM ET

Join us for MagicSchool: AI Insights and Career Pathways and embark on a journey to explore the fascinating world of Artificial Intelligence. Engage in interactive dialogues with the AI Literacy Bot to deepen your understanding of AI concepts. Connect with accomplished professionals from various eras through the Character Chatbot, gaining insights into their career journeys, educational backgrounds, and personal interests. Additionally, collaborate with the MagicSchool College and Career Counselor Chatbot to discover diverse career pathways and find the right path for your future.

Recommended for Grades 4+.

Share the registration link with interested students and families: https://outlook.office365.com/book/EngageEvents@k-12.com/

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!

Body Positivity – Nurturing Body Positivity February 12

Register for this 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!

Stride is partnering with school and national leadership to define a new, higher bar that goes beyond measuring satisfaction alone. We are excited to expand our Thriving Pulse Check (previously Teacher Pulse Check) to include all school staff to promote four key elements of thriving: Leadership, Collaboration, Agency, and Growth.

This survey is anonymous and deployed each September, February, and May to empower you, your leadership, and Stride with information to open the doors to healthy and meaningful conversation that promotes the key elements of thriving.

Should any questions or concerns arise, please reach out to your direct supervisor.

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