A+ Academics: Reminders to Start the New Year
By David Trussell | Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:03 PM
Not only do summers in Texas seem to get hotter every year, they also seem to get shorter, at least in terms of having a break between school years. It hasn’t been that long ago that we were wrapping up 2008-09, but here we are with a new school year already upon us. Following are some important items to keep in mind as you begin your preparations for this year’s A+ competitions.
Registration
Every school that participates in the A+ Program must register with the state office every year. This is how we keep our contact information current, and how we are able to send you a complimentary copy of the new A+ Handbook. You can find the online registration form at www.uil.utexas.edu/academics/aplus. With online registration, you can search for your school, view the information we have on file and send us only any changes that are needed (new UIL coordinator, new principal, etc.). You also receive an immediate confirmation that your form has been received, as well as a follow-up e-mail a few days later.
The deadline for participation registration is Nov. 15. If your school is in an ISD with at least one UIL member high school, there are no separate membership fees for A+ participation. If you do not have a member high school, contact the UIL office for membership information.
District Meets
UIL districts for A+ competition are organized locally (unlike high schools, whose districts are assigned by the state office). This means we don’t know which schools you’re competing with unless you tell us. Likewise, A+ districts are not required to offer every contest (though we encourage you to offer as many as possible). This means we don’t know which district contest materials you need unless you tell us. Meet directors can submit their information online beginning Aug. 20. All districts are encouraged to use the online forms, but there are printed versions in the A+ Handbook for those who are unable to access or complete them online.
• Fall/Winter District meets – dates are Dec. 1 through Jan. 31, with Jan. 31 as the first date to return materials. The deadline for submitting district forms is Sept. 25. Meeting this deadline is absolutely critical for December meets. District forms received after the deadline may not be accepted.
• Spring District meets – dates are Feb. 1 through May 29, which allows time to schedule meets after spring TAKS testing. May 29 will be the first date for the return of spring contest materials. The deadline for submitting spring district forms is Nov. 15.
Notes on Meet Scheduling
To make scheduling easier and allow more time for judging entries, many districts have moved their writing contests to a week or so prior to the rest of their meet. There’s nothing wrong with that, provided you keep contest release dates in mind when you make your schedule. For example, if the main part of your meet is scheduled for Dec. 1, you cannot receive fall/winter district writing prompts to use on Nov. 20. While you will receive your shipment several days in advance of your meet (even if it’s on Dec. 1), no fall/winter materials may be used prior to Dec. 1. If you plan a schedule similar to the one described above, you must make other arrangements for writing prompts.
Also, be sure not to schedule a meet that crosses the district timeframes — i.e., you can’t schedule one part of your meet in January and one part in February, since that puts you half in fall/winter and half in spring. This would create problems for you in trying to keep materials confidential and return them on the proper dates.
Finally, when you submit your district forms, be very clear about your meet dates. If the main part of your meet is on Jan. 22, but you’re doing Ready Writing and Spelling on Jan. 12, be sure that the earlier date is also included on your form. Shipments of contest materials are based on the dates you provide on your form.
Study Materials
As always, this year we have new lists for Music Memory and Spelling and new topics for Modern Oratory. All of these except the Spelling list are available on the UIL Web site and in the A+ Handbook. The A+ Spelling booklet may be ordered using the A+ Academic Study Materials Order Form.
This is the first year of a new two-year cycle for the Art contest, so the prints and Art Smart bulletin are new for this year. Art Smart is available for purchase from UIL or Tune In (www.elizajan.com). Prints and other materials are available exclusively from Tune In. Materials you purchase for this year can be used for 2010-11 as well.
The official source for Dictionary Skills continues to be Merriam Webster Intermediate Dictionary, which is available through Texas Educational Paperbacks (www.tepbooks.com). A new 2009 copyright of the Intermediate Dictionary was released over the summer. We are currently evaluating the new copyright to determine if it contains changes that would impact the contest. Watch the Leaguer online and the A+ page of the UIL Web site for updates. In any case, dictionaries with a 2004 copyright are fine for this year’s contests.
For Maps, Graphs & Charts, the official source for the contest continues to be the Nystrom Desk Atlas. A new edition of the atlas was released two years ago, and for the past two years we have been working with both the new edition and the previous version as well. This transition period was intended to allow schools adequate time to plan for updating atlases. Beginning in 2009-10, test writers will be working only with the newer 2008 copyright edition. Atlases can be ordered direct from UIL at a discounted price using the A+ Study Materials Order Form.
Many third party vendors also offer excellent study materials for UIL A+ contests. A listing of these vendors is available from the A+ page of the UIL Web site.