2008 Information
National School Bus Safety Week
The Secretary of State's Office, in conjunction with the Illinois Association for Pupil Transportation, holds an annual contest to increase awareness of school bus safety issues and to publicize National School Bus Safety Week.
National School Bus Safety Week will be held October 19-25, 2008. The theme for 2008 is "AVOID HARM, OBEY THE STOP ARM". The state winners' artwork will be featured in a calendar and will also be sent forward for national competition. Winners also receive a savings bond and are recognized at an awards ceremony in Springfield.
Back to Top
Deadlines
Students interested in participating must do so through their teacher. The contest is open to all students in kindergarten through eighth grade and has four grade divisions.
First, local school districts should organize a local competition and judge the entries by May 1, 2008. School districts are encouraged to give prizes to students at their own discretion. Then, winning local entries must be entered in the state competition by June 1, 2008. No more than four posters from each school district (one from each division) may be entered into the state competition. The judging for the state contest is held in June.
First place winners from the state competition in each division will be forwarded for competition at the national level in November.
Posters must be 12 inches x 18 inches only and illustrated in a horizontal format.
Back to Top
How To Have Your Students Participate
Guidelines and flyers are available for teacher use. The poster contest may be used as one of the two state-required safety instructions. Teachers may wish to incorporate the contest into classroom training on school bus safety that is required twice a school year.
For local judging, we encourage you to ask safety directors, bus drivers or state officials to be judges. Entries in the state competition are judged on safety impact, originality, and artistry and you may want to model your decisions on those criteria.
The winning artworks at your school should be shipped first class in a mailing tube to I.A.P.T for entry into the statewide competition. Each poster should have a National School Bus Week Poster Entry Blank, or a reasonable facsimile, filled out and securely glued to the lower left-hand front corner of each poster. The entry blank can be found in the Guidelines.
Who May Enter
Any student enrolled in a public, parochial or private school. There are four categories for the state level.
Divison 1 - Grades K-2
Division 2 - Grades 3-6
Division 3 - Grades 7-8
Division 4 - Special Service Students
Deadline
May 1, 2008 is the deadline for local competition
June 1, 2008 is the deadline for the state competition
Completed Poster must be 12’X18” only
Posters must be illustrated in a horizontal format.
How To Enter
Use a National School Bus Week Poster 3”X5” Entry Blank, or a reasonable facsimile, with information typed or printed clearly and signed by the teacher. It must be securely glued to the back of the poster, placed in lower left hand corner. Designs may be on construction paper but should be mounted on quality poster illustration board.
Originality
Poster themes must be original and correct in safety concept
Poster themes must be original, correct and the exclusive work of the student entering the program in idea, design, and execution. Instructor should supervise all work created. Completion of art should be done during the months of March and April. Poster slogan must harmonize with the theme: "AVOID HARM, OBEY THE STOP ARM"
Contestants must illustrate above theme only. Illustrations should be positive in approach, demonstrating only proper school bus safety behavior. Illustrations must also accurately portray Illinois law, rules and regulations regarding pupil transportation. At least part of a yellow school bus must be presented in the poster.
Lettering
Only Freehand drawn letters may be used in the poster design. Stenciled, reprinted, manufactured stick-on or press-on letters or tracings may NOT be used. Lettering should be clearly legible, even if used as part of the poster design.
There is no limitation on the use and number of colors. There is no limitation on the type of media- such as print, crayon, cut-paper, felt pen, etc. -used on the poster designs; however, wood, plastic, glass or metal should not be part of the poster.
Collage materials should not be used. Poster designs may not incorporate any copyright characters (i.e. comic and television characters), photographs, and magazine or newspaper illustrations.
Mail State Contestant Entries To:
Tonna Percival,
Effingham Unit 40,
P.O. Box 130 Effingham, IL. 62401
The local contest winning posters will be entered and judged in the State Poster Contest. The state winners will be entered into the National School Bus Safety Week Poster Program.
Judging
Locally: By administrators, teachers, or staff in your schools
State: Transportation Directors, bus drivers, or those selected by the I.A.P.T. Board of Directors along with the I.S.T.A. Directors.
Nationally: Illinois posters selected for final judging will be
viewed by the National Board of Judges, comprised of prominent individuals in the field of transportation safety. The winning poster will be used for national distribution in 2009.
Judging criteria for award-winning posters:
- Relationship of the poster design to school bus safety practices;
- Originality of poster and how the idea is expressed in the poster design;
- Artwork and its execution; and
- Visual impact of the poster design.
All state/province entries become the property of the National School Bus Safety Week Committee. The right to modify any poster is reserved by the NSBSW Committee, comprised of members of the NAPT, NSTA, NSC, state directors and school bus manufacturers and suppliers.
Prizes
State: Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place in each division as follows:
1st Place: $100 savings bond
2nd Place: $75 savings bond
3rd Place: $50 savings bond
Nationally:
1st Place Overall: $1000 savings bond
1st Place of Three Remaining Divisions: $500 savings bond
2nd Place, of each 4 divisions: $250 savings bond
3rd Place, of each 4 divisions: $100 savings bond
Back to Top
| 
