Agenda: Introduction Location Direction & Map Orientation Building codes Emergency protocol Places of Interest Schedule Registration
Food General Rules & Guidelines Contest Specific Rules Award Ceremony Meet the Pro Heartfulness Meditation FAQ
Introduction Congratulations on your successful participation in the regional contests conducted by North South Foundation. On behalf of the Foundation we are delighted to invite you to participate in the National Finals scheduled to take place at University of South Florida, Tampa, FL during August 20-21, 2016 Convener Team: Sampath Narayanan, Convener Dr. Kotha Sekharam Co-Convener Vengatesan Sidheswaran Co-Convener Sponsors: Gurukulam of Tampa Bay, USF and YuppTV
Location Direction and Map Orientation University of South Florida, 4202 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620 Directions From Fowler Ave. Enter the USF campus through Leroy Collins Blvd Pass USF Alumni Dr and Continue towards Library Take a Right on USF Apple Dr Park in Parking Lot 1 Walk to the EDU "College of Education" Building Parking Lots 29A and 29B can be accessed from Leroy Collins Blvd Parking Lot 30 can be accessed from USF Alumni Dr
Location Direction and Map Orientation We want your first stop to be Registration Desk Registration desk is situated at College of Education, USF, USF Education Building, 4801 USF Willow Drive, Tampa, FL 33620 Student Registration desk will be open during these hours Friday : 7 PM to 9 PM EST(pre-registration) Saturday : 6 AM EST onwards Sunday : 6 AM EST onwards
Building Codes: University of South Florida, 4202 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620 EDU CPR BEH CWY CIS BSN ULH College of Education Russell M Cooper Hall (Arts & Science) Behavioral Sciences Building C.W. Young Hall Communication & Information sciences building C.H. Ferguson Hall (Business Administration Building) University Lecture Hall
Emergency protocol: USF has phones located in multiple places to emergency calls Identified as blue dots in the map In addition NSF information desk has access to on call physician and pediatrician for any phone queries. Please use your judgement don t hesitate to call 911 when it is necessary. NSF badged volunteers can be contacted for any questions including directions Places of Interest: Bush Gardens Tampa Bay Museum of Science & Industry Florida Aquarium Lowry Park Zoo Adventure Island
Registration: We strongly recommend to do Pre-Registration Only one Registration needed for students having contest on both the days Place log into NSF website find your student registration Number (Id) and print the confirmation page Please bring the confirmation page to the Registration desk There will be 6 tables organized by Last Name to help you with registration During registration you will be given yellow envelope, NSF T-Shirt, Sling bag, Bee Book. Inside the Yellow envelope you will find useful fliers, map, participation certificate and another white envelope Food coupons for selected Lunch options will be inside the white envelope Once you complete the registration and receive the envelope please exit through the other door as soon as you can. Contestants expected to wear the NSF T-shirt when they are in the USF
Food: Lunch coupons will be in the white envelope Green coupon for Indian meal and Red for Pizza Food stations will be outside CPR (Cooper s Hall) General Rules and Guidelines: USF and Gurukulam of Tampa bay providing us the location of free of cost Please take extreme measures to help us to keep the place clean and tidy Next day of the event University resumes classes, so it is very important At all times follow the instructions of NSF volunteers Please do not enter restricted areas Please be there in the contest area ahead of time (minimum 15 minutes) Have the student wear the badge at all times
General Rules and Guidelines: The following rules are applicable to all contests: The Foundation reserves the right to verify the date of birth of the contestant/grade, and revoke the rank(s) and prize(s) in case of any discrepancy with the contest rules. The Foundation conducts educational activities on "best efforts basis" only. The Foundation, its officers, and volunteers are not responsible for any human error and consequent hardship caused to any person(s) or organization(s). The primary goal of these contests is to foster the spirit of competition and learning among the youth. Parents and children should focus on the joy of learning and interaction with other participants rather than on the possible outcome of the contest. Parents cannot enter Contest Hall Student once enter the Contest Hall reach out to Room Guide volunteer Each Room will be virtually partitioned into 7 section, manned by 7 room guide volunteer by badge number Verify the seat badge sticker with student s badge
General Rules and Guidelines The following rules are applicable to all contests: The Foundation reserves the right to verify the date of birth of the contestant/grade, and revoke the rank(s) and prize(s) in case of any discrepancy with the contest rules. The Foundation conducts educational activities on "best efforts basis" only. The Foundation, its officers, and volunteers are not responsible for any human error and consequent hardship caused to any person(s) or organization(s). The primary goal of these contests is to foster the spirit of competition and learning among the youth. Parents and children should focus on the joy of learning and interaction with other participants rather than on the possible outcome of the contest. Test papers should contain only badge number no Name Student should transfer the answers to the last page scoring sheet
Contest specific rules: Spelling Bee (JSB and SSB): There are 2 levels of competition in Spelling Bee: JSB (Junior Spelling Bee): Grades 1, 2 and 3 SSB (Senior Spelling Bee): Grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Both spelling bees (JSB and SSB) are held in three phases: Phase I is written, while Phases II and III are oral rounds. Pronouncer pronounces words in all phases. No parents are allowed in Phase I. The pronouncer and judges face the audience. The contestants face the judges and pronouncers. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final. Pronouncer and judges use both NSF material and Merriam-Webster 3rd International Unabridged Edition as sources in conducting the contests
Contest specific rules Phase I (Written): Phase I is a written test with 30 words. First ten words are selected from the published list of 1000 words, provided to the contestants. The pronouncer provides the pronunciation of the word, its definition and any applicable alternate definitions, parts of speech, language(s) of origin, and alternate pronunciation(s), and uses the word in a sentence for each of the 30 words. Each contestant is given a sheet with 30 blank rows to write the spelling for each of the 30 words. Alternate definitions rule does not apply to the published words. On each word, the contestants get 30 seconds to write the spelling. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. All Phase I sheets should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet. All contestants advance to Phase II. In Phase II, contestants will be divided into groups of about 20, and each group is seated in a separate room by the badge number order. Badges contain the group number.
Contest specific rules Phase II (Oral): Phase II contains 3 oral rounds. All words in Phase II are from the published list of 1,000 words. In each round, each contestant gets a new word. The contestant faces the judges and speaks into a microphone. The pronouncer pronounces a word to the contestant. The contestant pronounces the word, spells it, and pronounces it again. The contestant is awarded zero points for failing to follow this order or failing to spell the word correctly. Pronunciation after spelling is optional, and points are not deducted for failing to pronounce after spelling. The pronouncer pronounces words as per the diacritical markings given in the sources. If the pronunciation of the contestant does not match, pronouncer and/or judges will request the contestant to pronounce again until a reasonable match is achieved. The pronouncer and judges make every attempt possible to detect a contestant s misunderstanding of the word that is being asked to spell and hence it is important for the contestant to enunciate the word clearly before starting to spell.
Contest specific rules A contestant may request to have the word pronounced again or ask for a definition, language origin, parts of speech, or a usage of the word in a sentence. No alternate definitions are given. A contestant is allowed 30 seconds to start spelling a word. The judge may award zero points to any contestant who ignores a request to start spelling. This 30 second period excludes the time expended in step 11 above. Once a contestant starts spelling, he/she may stop and start over. In retracing, there can be no change of letters or their sequence from that of the previous attempt. If any letter or the sequence is changed in the respelling, the contestant will be awarded zero points. In case more than one spelling is listed for a word in the Webster's dictionary, the particular spelling enunciated by the contestant shall be accepted as correct, if the word either matches the pronunciation and definition provided by the pronouncer, or is clearly identified as being a standard variant of the word the contestant has been asked to spell. No other source is allowed in this regard.
Contest specific rules If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer shall indicate that the word is a homonym and define it so as to distinguish the homonym. If the listed word is not properly identified, any correct spelling of any homonym is acceptable. It is the contestant s responsibility to say each letter distinctly and with sufficient volume to be clearly understood by the judges. The contestant is awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. If a contestant gives an incorrect answer, the pronouncer provide the correct answer and the next contestant will be given a new word from the list
Contest specific rules Phase III (Oral): Based on the cumulative scores of Phase I (30 words) and II (3 rounds), for a total score of 33, the judges determine a list of up to top 15 contestants who advance to Phase III. Because of potential ties, the judges use the tie-breaker rules outlined below to arrive at the top contestants to go into Phase III. While contestants are divided into groups in Phase II, those selected for Phase III are seated in one room. This is an elimination phase. The words in this phase are selected from external sources. In Phase III, all the rules for Phase II apply with the following changes: (a) An alternate definition for the word is provided by the pronouncer if asked by the contestant. (b) If the spelling provided by the contestant is incorrect, the contestant is eliminated. (c) Contestants who provide the correct spelling advance to the next round. (d) If no contestant spells correctly in a round, all contestants remain and advance to the next round.
Contest specific rules Winners and Ranks: The First, Second and Third place winners are decided based on multiple elimination rounds in Phase III. The first place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. If any of these top three positions remains tied after a maximum of 20 rounds, it will be broken as per the tiebreaker rules outlined below. Since the Foundation recognizes only the top 10 ranks, any tie is broken among the next seven places by using the tie-breaker rules outlined below. Tiebreaker Rules for Ranks 1-3, for Ranks 4-10, and selecting the top 15 into Phase III: To break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given: Combined Phase I and Phase II score Phase I score alone Phase I score among questions 26-30 Phase I score among questions 21-25 Phase I score among questions 16-20 Phase I score among questions 11-15 Phase I score among questions 1-10
Award Ceremony Each day contest results will be announced and awards distributed on the same day We strongly recommend every one to attend Award Ceremony During Award Ceremony Rank trophy/medals, Rank certificate will be given If you cannot attend, we can mail them. Parents will have to pay for the shipping
Meet the Pro NSF Track: Science, Math, Public Speaking, Spelling, Geography General NSF Track: Finding Happiness, Heartfulness, USF Admissions, NSF Online coaching, Meditation Q&A