Dear Parents and Students of SRCS,

 

We are excited to announce that our school has elected to participate in TWO external competitions this school year.  The first one is called “Academic Fair.”  The Academic Fair is an annual competition hosted by St. Patrick Catholic School. For the 2018-2019 school year, the Academic Fair will be held on Friday, February 8, 2018. Typically 7 Diocesan schools participate in the Academic Fair.  The events for 2018/2019 are: Objective events- mental math, math, algebra, geography, and spelling, Subjective events are on-site drawing and Prose Interpretation. 

 

Contest Rules for Academic Fair at St. Patricks 

https://1.cdn.edl.io/ZvRZNxQ91AzakSKcy45jeHjeTGEMpnsU8JxY3bukyfHLHf4H.pdf

 

Contest Schedule for Academic Fair at St. Patricks

https://1.cdn.edl.io/yR6h4IW3ImwLwNnter64wlaLRqW2whcjDFwyq8OVruJ9tJq2.pdf

 

The other contest is called Private Schools Interscholastic Association, also known as PSIA.  Below is a link to PSIA event names and explanations in detail according to objective vs. subjective events. Please visit the PSIA website to read and discern the details of the competition.

 

https://www.psiaacademics.org/contests/objective/

Art Memory, Calculator, Dictionary Skills, Listening Skills, Maps, Graphs and Charts, Mathematics, Music Memory, Number Sense, Science, Spelling and Vocabulary contests.

 

https://www.psiaacademics.org/subjective/

Creative Writing, Modern Oratory, Prose Interpretation, Storytelling, Impromptu Speaking, On-site Drawing, Ready Writing

https://www.psiaacademics.org/subjective/19-rules-for-all/

 

Dates to consider:

• Academic Fair:  Friday, February 8, 2019, at St. Patrick’s School
• PSIA- Saturday, March 23, 2019, at St. Pius X
• State Competition only for those who advance from PSIA is April 27, 2019, at TCU

Participation:  Sign-up sheets for the different events for both competitions are currently posted in the classrooms and will be posted until November 7, 2018. We encourage you to visit with your child about his/her interests and the possibilities of competing in one of the events and encourage them to sign up in their homeroom classroom. Please also take into consideration that a student’s success at the Academic Fair and PSIA requires a time commitment and focus from the student as well as their parents. Students will not be able to sign up for consideration for participation in the Academic Fair or PSIA after the deadline has passed.  Representatives for the school for the events will be selected from the students that have signed up.  

 

Please note that the rules of PSIA and the Academic Fair on only permit a limited number of students at each grade level to participate (see below). As a result not every student will be able to participate in the competitions.   

• St. Patrick's Academic Fair only allows the schools to send four students per event, per grade.
• PSIA only allows the schools to send three students per grade, per event except for combined teams. (See PSIA website)

 

Selection of Student Representatives:

1. Selecting students for Objective Events in both Academic Fair and PSIA: This year, we will have a one-day school runoff to determine the St. Rita representatives for both the Academic Fair and PSIA for Objective events only. The run-off will be held St. Rita on November 10, 2018.  Students in each grade for each event will be given the same test which will be graded. The top four students in the runoffs will participate in Academic Fair. The top three from each event will also compete at PSIA.  Objective tests are scored items and may include alternate-response, matching, and multiple choice questions.

 

2. Selecting students for Subjective Events in both Academic Fair and PSIA – Contestants for the Subjective events for both the Academic Fair and PSIA will be selected from the students that have signed up and based on subjective event rules from PSIA. The teachers process will be determined by classroom presentations, student writing samples, and drawings done in classes. The teachers judgement is essential in selecting students who have exhibited consistency in these type of events, attendance, citizenship, testing under pressure, overall ability in the subject area, and student interest. The top four students in the runoffs will participate in Academic Fair. The top three from each event will also compete at PSIA. Subjective events require students to create or construct drawings or interpretive works that are often based on the student’s personal opinions, interpretations and points of view. As stated in the PSIA rules; the philosophies and techniques of oral reading differ widely, and your child needs to be aware that their work may be evaluated by people with a variety of approaches to the field. The emphasize is the joy of sharing.

 

Finally, academic competitions hinge on parental commitment and support.  If your child is asked to participate, you too will be required to help in some way.  We have many volunteer opportunities available, either coaching the students before the contest, assisting with the event preparations or volunteering on contest day.

 

We anticipate an exciting academic year!!

St. Rita School Administration

 

Competition Coordinators

Kim Robbs (School)– krobbs@strita.net

Karen Wade (Parent) karen.wade@alston.com 

Kim Betz (Parent)  kim.betz@capitalone.com