EDIT MAIN
Student Events &
Academic Competitions
The Butte County Office of Education (BCOE) coordinates a number of countywide and regional events for students, giving individual students and school teams the chance to come together outside of the classroom to demonstrate their learning. The student events encourage engagement, promote accomplishments, and provide students with a chance to put their learning to the test in a real world setting.
For teachers, the events are a resource to encourage and motivate student learning. Schools participate to build school spirit and spotlight the achievements of their students. The community helps sponsor these annual competitions and experiences and joins in recognizing participating schools and students.
We would like to give a special acknowledgement to our sponsors, volunteers, teachers and coaches for their commitment and encouragement. We appreciate your support in making participation in these unique educational opportunities happen for Butte County student.
For general inquires contact:
Mary Ellen Garrahy - Student Engagement and Events Manager
530-532-5647
SIGN UP TO SPONSOR OR VOLUNTEEr
Click here to view the 2018-2019 Student Events Brochure
Click here to view the 2018-2019 Student Events Calendar
July 2018
July 16 | Maker's Day Come join us to build your junk robot! Literally find garbage, scraps, and any other junk you come across and start creating! You will have access to donated materials and resources needed to make an amazing junk robot! The Butte County Fair will be onsite to register your entry into the fair. |
August 2018 | |
| August 23-26 see fair schedule for display hours Butte County Fairgrounds Gridley, 199 East Hazel St., Gridley, CA 95948 | Junk Robotics Exhibition Junk Robots designed at the Maker’s Day hosted by Butte County Office of Education will be on display at the Butte County Fairgrounds. |
September 2018 | |
| September 14-28 All week long, at all Butte County High Schools | High School Voter Week The California Education Code designates the last two full weeks in April and September to be High School Voter Education Weeks. This provides an opportunity for high schools and their students to partner with county elections officials to promote civic education and participation on campus and foster an environment that cultivates lifelong voters and active citizens. |
| September 22 10am - 3pm Bicentennial Park, Oroville, CA | Family Fun Day Family Fun Day is an opportunity to celebrate programs and services offered to Butte County students through the Butte County Office of Education! Students and families are invited to join us for an array of interactive Expanded Learning Program booths, live music, student talent show, arts and crafts, sports and much more. |
| September 22 10am - 3pm Bicentennial Park Oroville, CA | Vex Robotics Scrimmage Vex Robotics teams from around Butte County are invited to participate in a VEX IQ scrimmage. You will also have the opportunity to get more information on how Butte County students can form a VEX Robotics team. Do not need to be registered to attend. |
| September 27 4pm - 8pm Almond Room, Center for Transforming Education, 5 County Center Drive, Oroville | Vex Robotics Qualifying Round 1 Vex Robotics teams from around Butte County are invited to Round 1 Qualifier to learn about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through participation. Must be a pre-registered team in the Butte County VEX Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Challenge to attend. |
October 2018 | |
| October 6 9am – 1pm Bicentennial Park Oroville, CA | Cardboard Challenge The public is invited to attend the first annual Cardboard Challenge. At this free event, children and adults will have the opportunity to design and fabricate their own creations from cardboard and supplies provided. The Global Cardboard Challenge was inspired by the short film entitled Caine’s Arcade – a film about a boy who created a game arcade out of cardboard boxes in his father’s auto parts store and the neighborhood that supported it. Today, the Global Cardboard Challenge is a worldwide celebration of childhood creativity and the role communities can play in fostering it. This event also engages students in the 4C’s of 21st century learning: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. |
| October 11 4pm - 8pm Nelson Ave. Middle School | Vex Robotics Qualifying Round 2 Vex Robotics teams from around Butte County are invited to Round 2 Qualifier to learn about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through participation. Must be a pre-registered team in the Butte County VEX Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Challenge to attend. |
| October 17 5pm - 7:30pm Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, 2357 Fair Street, Chico, CA | Explorer's Faire K-8 students and families invited to explore booths from local businesses, industry, high schools and the community college. Interactive hands-on activities from robotics to art and more! |
| October 23-31 All week, All Schools | Red Ribbon Week Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention awareness campaign. Butte County encourages all of our students to live a drug-free lifestyle. Wear red ribbons this week to celebrate! |
| October 31 Deadline: 12pm Local VFW office | Patriots Pen Essay Deadline Patriot’s Pen 2018 - 19 Theme “Why I Honor the American Flag” Student essay contest. Conducted nationwide, this VFW-sponsored youth essay competition gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. We invite you to join the more than 120,000 students who participated last year in this contest. The national winners will receive at least $500. The first-place national award is currently $5,000 plus an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the winner and a parent or guardian. The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has again approved this contest for its National Advisory List of Contests and Activities. |
November 2018 | |
| November 8 4pm - 8pm | Vex Robotics Qualifying Round 3 Vex Robotics teams from around Butte County are invited to Round 3 Qualifier to learn about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through participation. Must be a pre-registered team in the Butte County VEX Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Challenge to attend. |
| November 24 1pm - 5pm Historic Oroville State Theatre Oroville, CA | The Magic of Christmas Local elementary schools invited to participate in a free tree decorating contest. There will be a special book reading and a performance by the Northern California School of Ballet. Students are invited to submit their decorated tree for consideration by November 19th. |
December 2018 | |
December 3-7 All week long, All schools | Computer Science Education Week Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual program dedicated to inspiring K-12 students to take interest in computer science. |
| December 8 8am - 2pm Nelson Avenue Middle School, Oroville | Vex Robotics Finals (Butte County) Vex Robotics teams from around Butte County are invited to Finals to learn about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through participation. Must be a pre-registered team in the Butte County VEX Robotics Competition and VEX IQ Challenge to attend. |
| December TBA | NCEL Esports Fall Playoffs The Northern California Esports League (NCEL) is a new student program ran by the Butte County Office of Education. The program is a student-led operation focused on bringing competitive esports opportunities to our high school students in Northern California. NCEL will work alongside the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) formed by the Orange County Office of Education to bring high school gamers in rural California the chance to compete in statewide and national championships. Visit the official NCEL website at ncesportsleague.org to learn more. |
January 2019 | |
| January 16 8am – 3pm North Butte County Courthouse Chico | Butte County Mock Trial The Mock Trial competition simulates a trial level proceeding in which high school students play the roles of pretrial counsel, prosecuting and defense attorneys, witnesses, court clerks and bailiffs before a presiding judge. Scoring judges score individuals based on their legal arguments and presentations. |
| January 24 | Academic Decathlon Essay (Butte County) Student high school decathletes complete the essay portion of the Butte County Academic Decathlon. |
January 28 – February 1 A week long challenge at all Butte County Schools | The Great Kindness Challenge The Great Kindness Challenge is one week dedicated to creating a culture of kindness on campuses nationwide. The Butte County Office of Education, alongside our schools are proudly participating in this proactive, positive bullying prevention initiative. Students and adults will receive a GKC Checklist with 50 kind deeds. We are encouraging everyone to complete the checklist and show the world that kindness matters! |
February 2019 | |
| February 2 8am - 5pm Butte County Office of Education 1859 Bird Street, Oroville, CA 95966 | Academic Decathlon Speech, Interview and SuperQuiz (Butte County) Student high school decathletes participate as a 9-member team against other schools by taking 30 minute multiple-choice tests in the subjects of economics, language & literature, music, science, art, mathematics, and social science. They also compete in interviews, speeches and essays. The competition culminates in the high-energy team event called the Super Quiz, which is open to the public. Individual and team award medals are presented at an awards banquet and the overall winning team from the county competition is invited to participate in the statewide California Academic Decathlon. |
| February 11* 9am – 12pm Location: 1078 Gallery, 1710 Park Avenue, Chico, CA | Poetry Out Loud Finals (Butte County) Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that starts at the classroom level. Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to the Butte County competition. Winners from the county competition will advance to the state competition. Butte County's Poetry Out Loud program is supported by the Friends of the Arts. |
| February* Butte College | STEM Girl Career Trek The Butte County branches of the American Association of Women (AAUW) in partnership with Butte Community College, invite all 8th grade girls to attend a career exploration program. Interact with professional women whose careers require training in math, science and/or technology and learn abou the preparation required for those careers. Must register to attend. Includes meals. Only open to 8th grade girls. |
March 2019 | |
| March* | Juried Art Show (Butte County) Selected students invited to display their art at the Juried Art Show. This event showcases the finest art work in the county as part of the Arts Education Initiative designed to bring about a renaissance in arts education for Pre K-12th. |
| March 2 Location TBA | National History Day (Butte County) National History Day, is a year-long educational program that encourages students to explore local, state, national, and world history. After selecting a historical topic that relates to an annual theme, students conduct extensive research by using libraries, archives, museums, and oral history interviews. They analyze and interpret their findings, draw conclusions about their topics' significance in history, and create final projects that present their work. These projects can be entered into a series of competitions, from the local to the national level, where they are evaluated by historians and educators. |
| March 3-4 Sacramento, CA | Poetry Out Loud (California Finals) California Poetry Out Loud State Finals. Must qualify at county competition to participate. |
| March 22-23 Sacramento, CA See State Schedule for time | Academic Decathlon (California Finals) California Academic Decathlon State Finals. Must qualify at county competition to participate. |
| March 22-24 Sacramento, CA See State Schedule for time | Mock Trial (California Finals) California Mock Trial State Finals. Must qualify at county competition to participate. |
| March 29 8am - 12pm Location: Paradise Performing Arts Center, Paradise, CA | Elementary Spelling Bee (Butte County) The Butte County Office of Education coordinates the county elementary Spelling Bees for grade 4-6 students. Butte County Spelling Bees give students the opportunity to demonstrate their spelling ability, think on their feet, and speak before an audience. |
| March 29 1pm - 4pm Location: Paradise Performing Arts Center, Paradise | Jr. High Spelling Bee (Butte County) The Butte County Office of Education coordinates the county junior high competition for students in grades 7-9. Butte County Spelling Bees give students the opportunity to demonstrate their spelling ability, think on their feet, and speak before an audience. |
April 2019 | |
| April* 2pm - 5pm Butte College | Kids Challenge Students grades 4th-8th visit Butte College for an engaging day highlighting career exploration and participation in an exciting academic trivia competition. Students, parents, and educators are welcome to attend. |
| April 15 | Butte County Young Author’s Writing Contest Deadline The 2019 Paradise Chocolate Fest celebration will include "All About Books!" ... connecting Authors, Illustrators and Publishers to the Community. It will include a Young Authors Writing Contest. Young writers are encouraged to create a fictional story that includes the word "Chocolate". The contest is top to K-12 students who are enrolled in public and private schools in Butte County. BCOE Student Events, along with Friends of the Library, the Elks and Lions Clubs are sponsoring it. |
| April 19* Location: TBA | Math Field Day Math Field is an opportunity for Butte County Elementary Schools to join together in promoting excellence in mathematics, team work, achieving goals, and school spirit. Math Field Day is an all-day math competition for students in Grade 4, 5, and 6. A school can have only one team (4 team members) per grade level participating. Most schools hold try-outs and have practice sessions for their teams. Must be registered to attend. |
May 2019 | |
| May 3 Harrison Stadium Oroville | Butte County Special Olympics The track meet isn annual collaborative event and doubles as a service learning opportunity for students attending local middle and high schools, Butte College and Chico State, to work with students with disabilities in an athletic and active environment. |
| May 4-5 Rocklin, CA | California National History Day California State National History Day Finals. Must qualify at the county competition to be eligible to attend. |
| May 19 Paradise | Butte County Young Author's Writing Contest Awards Gift certificates for sweet treats will be offered to the essay winners of 1st through 3rd place in the K-5 grade category, while 6th through 10th graders will be awarded Barnes & Noble Gift Certificates. The first place winners of the 11th and 12th grade division will be awarded scholarships. Must submit entries by April 15th. |
| May* Las Plumas High School | Lego Robotics and STEM Tournament Schools may bring up to 1 team to compete in the Lego Robotics and STEM Tournament. Teams must consist of 3-6 students. The mat used will be Trash Trek Challenge. Teams must be registered to attend. Open to 4th – 8th grade students. |
| May* | NCELEsports Spring Play Offs The Northern California Esports League (NCEL) is a new student program ran by the Butte County Office of Education. The program is a student-led operation focused on bringing competitive esports opportunities to our high school students in Northern California. NCEL will work alongside the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) formed by the Orange County Office of Education to bring high school gamers in rural California the chance to compete in statewide and national championships. Visit the official NCEL website at ncesportsleague.org to learn more. |
| May* | California Jr. High School Spelling Bee State Jr. High Spelling Bee. Must qualify at county competition to be eligible to attend. |
| May* | California Elementary School Spelling Bee State Elementary School Spelling Bee. Must qualify at county competition to be eligible to attend. |
June | |
*Date not confirmed. Please check back for confirmed date, time and Location |