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Middle & High School YouTube™ Video Contest

Fire Prevention Week is designed to provide an opportunity for fire and life safety educators to unite in sharing fire safety awareness and prevention messages in their communities. As part of those efforts, the Countryside Fire Protection District is sponsoring a Middle & High School YouTube Video Contest for Fire Safety and Burn Prevention. The contest is open to students in grades 6 through 12 enrolled in Fremont Middle School, Hawthorn Middle School North, Hawthorn Middle School South, West Oak Middle School, Woodlawn Middle School, and Vernon Hills High School. Entries will be judged based on how informative the video is and compliance with contest rules.

2010-2011 Middle School Contest 1st Place Video

"Mamula Productions - Keep Your Hands Off of Fire"
Hawthorn Middle School North, Vernon Hills

Click here to view all of the 2010-2011 local middle school contest winners.

Previous countywide high school contest winning videos can be seen on YouTube™ on the FireSafetyChiefs' Channel.

Prizes

The Grand Prize will be a digital video camera for the school, and members of the winning team will share $500 in American Express gift cards.

The Second Place team will share $400 in American Express gifts cards.

The Third Place team will share $300 in American Express gift cards.

Contest Information & Rules

Contest registration forms and waivers must be printed and completed by each team member and signed by a school representative. Entries will ONLY be accepted from school-sponsored communications courses or sponsored extra-curricular groups. Communications teachers or faculty sponsors must review and approve all storyboards before filming starts.

Multiple entries from the same school or program are allowed as students may wish to work in small groups or teams on the project.

Videos should be 1-3 minutes in length exploring burn prevention topics.

Videos must be submitted on a DVD. The video format must be capable of being uploaded to YouTube™ (for example, MPEG, MP4, FLV) and meet YouTube's policies. No copyrighted material can be included.

The video should include age appropriate material for a target audience of students in grades 6 through 12. All videos should be well researched and must be educational and informational. Students are strongly encouraged to contact their local fire departments, hospitals, and libraries to help with their research.

Material should not demonstrate risky or otherwise unsafe behavior. There can be NO actual fire. (So many YouTube videos show risky behavior but never tell the “rest of the story.")

A rubric for how the videos will be evaluated is available for download below.

Entries should be submitted on DVD no later than 4 PM on Friday, December 31, 2011 to:

  Tony Rodkey, Public Education Coordinator
  Countryside Fire Protection District
  600 N. Deerpath Drive
  Vernon Hills, IL 60061

Students on a winning team will share the prize.

Information for Educators

This contest addresses learning standard components 3C.4b, 3C.5b, and 4B.4a (Grades 6-8) of the Illinois English Language Arts Curriculum Framework and Learning Standard-Contributing to the well-being of one’s school and community. School districts offering communications classes, which include the design and creation of media productions, are encouraged to promote this contest through an independent or group assignment as part of its curriculum delivery.

Fire Prevention & Safety Awareness Links

National Fire Protection Association
Campus Firewatch
US Government's FireSafety.gov

Forms

Registration Form
Contest Information & Rules
Participant Waiver
Judging Rubric