SGE Family Newsletter

Our 2nd graders have an upcoming opportunity to participate in the 2022-2023 UIL Meet that will take place in Lampasas on November 30, 2023.

What is UIL?

UIL created “academic” contests for students in grades 2 - 8 to compete in. The competitions are FREE for students to participate in and are designed to not only help prepare students for the larger competitions in high school, but to also give them an opportunity to showcase their talents now!

From the A+ Academics UIL website:

“A+ Academics includes 20 different events for grades 2-8. These events span the curriculum - they are designed to complement and expand upon what students learn in the classroom, both through learning specific subject knowledge, and through learning skills that are valuable in many disciplines. Approximately 3,000 Texas schools participate in A+ Academics, competing in more than 300 district meets each year.”

This year we will compete with other schools in our UIL district on Wednesday, November 30th at Hanna Springs Elementary in Lampasas.

Tryouts/Contestants:

We will be sending home “sign-up” information soon. Note: All tryouts and practices will take place after school. Students will first try out for their chosen event(s). If a student is chosen as a team member (Contestant), he/she will participate in practices after school and may be given additional study material for home.

Below are the events in which 2nd graders have the opportunity to participate:

Music Memory The focus of the music memory contest is an in depth study of fine pieces of music literature taken from a wide spectrum of music genres to expose students to great composers, their lives, and their music. Students will hear short clips of music from a provided list and identify the selection, major work (if applicable), and composer for each song.

Creative Writing The contest is designed to promote creativity in an academic format and to encourage writing skills at an early grade level. Through preparation for the contest, students in second grade will be able to evaluate their own writing and the writing of others. Contestants will be given a prompt with several captioned pictures. From these pictures, the students will create an original story based on their selections in 30 minutes. The stories must contain at least one of the pictured items, but it is not required that all items on the page be included.

Storytelling To tell a story, the participant must develop skills in listening, thinking and speaking. This contest also allows for the development of creative expression, something being given more attention in the professional world. For practice, teachers can use stories from any good children's books or magazines. Contestants in the second and third grades shall listen to a storyteller read a brief story (between 600 and 1100 words long) only once, and then retell that story in their own words before a judge or judges. There are no time restrictions on the length of the story the student creates.

Chess Puzzles Chess puzzle competition is very different from tournament chess play. Contestants in a chess puzzle contest receive a paper-and-pencil test that includes a series of chess boards with pieces in particular positions. Questions are based on analysis of material or possible moves in each given diagram.

Creative Art (various categories) Students will work with their coach to create a piece to place in the competition. Students in these events do not travel to the competition. Their art pieces are taken to the contest site and judged without students present.