The McGraw-Hill SRA Reading Labs Student Writing Contest (the Contest ) Parent Consent Form

Transcription

1 The McGraw-Hill SRA Reading Labs Student Writing Contest (the Contest ) Parent Consent Form Instructions for Parents and/or Legal Guardians: Please read this Parent Consent Form and the Contest Official Rules below relating to the McGraw-Hill SRA Reading Lab Student Writing Contest ( Contest ), sponsored by the McGraw-Hill School Education Group of McGraw- Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ( McGraw-Hill ) If you wish to give consent to have your child s writing submitted by your child s teacher in the Contest, please complete and sign this Parent Consent Form return it to your child s teacher. By consenting to submission of your student s passage below as part of the Contest entry, the passage, in whole or in part, may be published as part of the SRA Reading Labs program materials or other publications by McGraw-Hill or its licensees or assigns. Writing Passage Title: (the Entry ) Category (Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction, Expository): Student s information: Name: ( Student ) Grade: Teacher: School Name: Parent and/or Legal Guardian s information:** Name: Relationship to Student: Address: City / State / Zip: Home Phone: Cell Phone: address: **This information will only be used to contact you regarding this Contest. Page 1

2 I agree to the following: 1. I represent and warrant that I am over the age of 18 years, that I am the parent or legal guardian of the Student specified above, that the Student is under 18 years of age, and that I can give the consent herein and grant the rights herein on the Student s behalf. 2. The Student s teacher has my permission to enter the McGraw-Hill SRA Reading Lab Student Writing Contest ( Contest ), sponsored by McGraw-Hill and to submit the above described Student s writing ( Entry ) along with the Student s name, school name and grade in that Contest in connection with the Entry, which may be posted on the public Contest Website if the Entry selected as a finalist. 3. I acknowledge that I have read and understand the Official Contest Rules (attached below), and that I and the Student will comply with and agree to be bound by these Official Contest Rules. I represent and warrant that the Student s work is original and not copied from any third party material. 4. I agree that McGraw Hill and its licensees and assigns shall have the royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual license to use, publish and distribute all Entry materials, including the following rights: a. the right to use and publish the Entry materials, and Student s first name, last initial, age, grade level, school name and school address, on the public Contest Website and in other materials relating to the Entry in connection with the Entry materials, b. the right to use and publish the Entry material, and Student s first name, last name, age, grade level, school name and school address, in and in connection with any SRA Reading Lab materials online or in print and/or in or in connection with any other publication of McGraw- Hill or its licensees and assigns. Furthermore, by permitting the Entry to be submitted for consideration in the Contest, I understand that all rights, including copyright, in and to the Entry are hereby assigned to McGraw-Hill, and McGraw-Hill and its licensees and assigns shall have the irrevocable and perpetual exclusive right to use, publish and distribute such Entry in any manner they choose in any publications and in all media without payment to Student, regardless of the outcome of the Contest. In addition, McGraw-Hill and its licensees and assigns may edit, reproduce, or otherwise make changes, additions or alterations to, or deletions from, all or any part of the Entry in their discretion, and shall have the right, but not the obligation, to publish Page 2

3 the Student s first and last name, age, grade level, and school name in connection with any such Entry, including in any promotion, publication or advertising incorporating such Entry, without payment of any compensation. I understand that I cannot withdraw the rights granted in this consent and that no further consents or approvals are required for McGraw-Hill or its licensees or assigns to exercise any rights granted. I agree to the foregoing: Date: Parent or Guardian Signature: Print Parent or Guardian Name: Page 3

4 Official Rules No purchase necessary. This is a trade promotion open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who, at time of entry, are over the age of 18, have reached the age of majority in their state of residence, and are working as a teacher of first ninth grade students ( 1-9 teacher ) for the academic year in (i) a school or home-school in the United States that is in compliance with the laws of the state where the school or home-school is located, or (ii) a school that is part of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) ( Entrant ). This promotion is void where prohibited or restricted by law and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and the rules of the Entrant s school and/or school district. The McGraw-Hill "SRA Reading Labs Student Writing Contest" ( Contest ) is sponsored by McGraw-Hill School Education of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ( Sponsor ) with offices at 8787 Orion Place, Columbus, OH USA. The Contest begins 9:00:00 AM EDT (13:00 GMT) on February 25, 2013 & ends 11:59:59 AM EDT (15:59:59 GMT) on April 5, 2013 (the "Contest Period"). Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor, Shycast, LLC and each of their respective affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and service agencies, and members of the immediate family and individuals living in the same household of such individuals (whether related or not) are not eligible to enter. 1. HOW TO ENTER: 1) Have your grade 1-9 student(s) write a passage ( passage ) in one of the following categories: 1. Adventure: Create a suspenseful adventure or mystery. 2. Drama: Be a class act by writing your own drama, poem, or play. 3. Science Fiction: Thrill your audience with a science fiction passage. 4. Expository: Inform readers with an expository text. Entries limited to the following lengths (this applies only to the passage itself, not including the words in the header.): Grades 1-3: 500 words Grades 4-6: 650 words Grades 7-9: 800 words 2) Save or export the passage as a Microsoft Word document (the Entry ). 3) During the Contest Period, enter online by (a) visiting (the "Contest Website"); (b) registering for the Contest on the Contest Website by clicking Sign up and filling in the form, (c) downloading and completing the Teacher Consent Form by Entrant here, and obtaining the signed Parent Consent Form from the parent or legal guardian of the participating student(s); (d) ing the passage as a word document, Page 4

5 completed consent forms and entry form to (e) Scanning and ing the signed teacher consent form (one per teacher) and the signed parent consent form(s) (one per participating student) to or mailing the consent forms to: SRA Reading Labe Student Writing Contest PO Box 278 Kingston, NJ Passages will not be considered without signed consent forms. The passage must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document as an attachment by . The consent forms can be submitted attached to the same , a separate e- mail or separately by mail. Entrants may enter as many student passages as they wish, but students are limited to one entry per category. Students may work together on the passages. Each passage must be submitted as a separate Word Document with the following format: Font: Times New Roman, size 12, double-spaced with 1 inch top and bottom margins and 1.25 inch left and right margins. With the following information at the top of the document: Passage Title Passage Category Teacher Name Student Name(s) and Grade Word Count The passage must be created by one or more students in the same grade category and submitted in the grade category in which the student(s) are attending school during the school year. Entrant must attest (and check the box where indicated) that the student(s) wrote the passage themselves with only grade appropriate teacher guidance and support. The passage must not: mention religious holidays; depict weapons or violence; mention the occult; use objectionable language of any kind (swearing, vulgarities, or slurs); or show cultural bias, exclusivity or insensitivity; glorify or promote children or adults exhibiting unsafe or unhealthy behaviors. The passages should not contain any logos, drawings, cartoons, phrases, trademarks or other third-party materials. If a passage includes any third party materials (including but not limited to, any copyright, trademark, logo or mark that identifies a brand) or otherwise violates or infringes (or may infringe) any trademark, logo, mark that identifies a brand or other proprietary right of any person living or deceased (including but not limited to rights of privacy or portrayal in a false light), the Sponsor, at its sole discretion may disqualify the Entry. Furthermore, if the owner of such trademark, brand, copyright, logo, etc. Page 5

6 insists that his trademark, brand, copyright, logo, and the like be removed from the site, the Entrant's Entry may be removed from the site immediately and the Entrant will be disqualified from the Contest. No Entry shall contain any content that has been published previously or plagiarized. Entrants may not copy or otherwise plagiarize the Entry material from any source. In connection with the Entry, each Entrant must execute a Teacher Consent Form, and obtain the signed Parent Consent Form from the parent or legal guardian of each student who participated in the making of the Entry, each of which grants Sponsor a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use and distribute all Entry materials in addition to additional rights including but not limited to transfer of all rights in the passage to the Sponsor for use in SRA Reading or other materials to be published in all media including but not limited to online and in print materials. These consent forms will be available on the Contest Website, and must be executed both by Entrant and the parent or legal guardian of each student(s) who participated in the making of the Entry. Entrants will be required to submit to Sponsor the signed Teacher Consent Form signed by the Entrant and the signed Parent Consent Form, signed by the parent or legal guardian of each student who participated in the making of the Entry. By entering, Entrant must attest (and check the box where indicated) that the Entrant has followed Entrant s school and school district s policy for participation in contests, including rules and policies relating to receiving permission from each parent/legal guardian whose child s passage is associated with the Entry, and that the Entrant has the permission of Entrant s principal or headmaster to submit the particular Entry and that they have obtained the signed Parent Consent Form from the parent or legal guardian of each student who worked on the Entry. Any passage deemed inappropriate or unsuitable, in Sponsor's sole discretion will be disqualified. Any Entry material or portion thereof that is, in the Sponsor's sole discretion, obscene, profane, lewd, defamatory, contains any content unsuitable for broadcast or publishing, or is otherwise objectionable, will not be considered and may disqualify the Entrant. The Sponsor reserves the right to verify the eligibility of any Entrant and/or the validity of any Entrant and to disqualify any Entrant who submits an Entry that is not in accordance with the Official Rules or who tampers with, or attempts to tamper with, the Entry, judging or voting process of the Contest. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights. All decisions regarding Entrant or Entry eligibility is in the sole discretion of Sponsor, and all decisions of Sponsor are binding and final. By submitting an Entry, Entrant hereby represents and warrants that: (1) the Entry submitted was created in its entirety by a student or group of students, and the Entry has not been submitted in any previous competitions; (2) the Entrant has executed the Teacher Consent Form and obtained a fully executed Parent Page 6

7 Consent Form in connection with its Entry, and has the parental permission in accordance with their school or school district's guidelines for publishing materials to the public Internet if needed; (3) Entrant meets all the eligibility requirements and has not engaged in any of the disqualifying activity set forth herein; and (4) Entrant agrees to McGraw Hill 's Terms of Use which can be found at All Entries submitted become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. Normal Internet access and usage charges imposed by Entrants' online service will apply. No information regarding Entries or judging, other than as set forth in the Official Rules will be disclosed. Each Entrant grants to Sponsor the right to use, publish, and broadcast his/her name, voice, picture, portrait, image, likeness and Entry in all media and types of publication, advertising and promotion without further compensation. Sponsor reserves the right to edit, reproduce, or otherwise make changes, additions or alterations to, or deletions from all or any part of the Entry. Any Entry deemed in violation of the Official Rules, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will not be accepted and will be deemed ineligible to win any prizes. 2. PRIZES: The 12 (one per category per grade level) Winners will receive the following for their classrooms: Grades winners (one per category) Approximate Total Prize Value for all 4 winners combined: $20,320 ($5,080 per winner) Program Reading Labs 2.0 Ipad 3 SRA Reading Labs (Print) Specific Skills Series for Language Arts Wonders Details 1 class set of RL 2.0 for 1 year Includes Teacher subscription and student subscription 1 ipad for classroom use Class set of Level 1.c, Teacher Handbook, student record book (5 PacK) Complete Elementary Set Classroom set of Wonders Grades winners (one per category) - Approximate Total Prize Value for all 4 winners combined: $20,464 ($5,116 per winner) Program Reading Labs 2.0 Ipad 3 SRA Reading Labs (Print) Details 1 class set of RL 2.0 for 1 year Includes Teacher subscription and student subscription 1 ipad for classroom use Class set of Level 2.b, Teacher Page 7

8 Handbook, student record book (5 PacK) Specific Skills Series for Language Arts Complete Elementary Set Wonders Classroom set of Wonders Grades winners (one per category) - Approximate Total Prize Value for all 4 winners combined: $19,772 ($4,943 per winner) Program Reading Labs 2.0 Details 1 class set of RL 2.0 for 1 year Includes Teacher subscription and student subscription Ipad 3 1 ipad for classroom use SRA Reading Labs (Print) Class set of Level 3.a, Teacher Handbook, student record book (5 PacK) Specific Skills Series for Language Arts Upper Elementary Set (grades 5-8) Glencoe Literature Set SRA Science Laboratory 12 titles from listed Common Core Exemplar Texts winners will receive 25 copies of the selected title Life Science Lab Package and student record books (5 pack) 3. JUDGING: The top 12 Entries (3 per category) in each of the 3 grade levels (grades 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9), for a total of 36 Entries (the Finalists ) will be selected on or about April 19, 2013 by Sponsor s panel of judges from all eligible entries. Each Entry will be judged in each of the following criteria: Mechanics and Organization (Vocabulary is accurately used. The passage is clearly used. Sentence and paragraph usage aids the passage structure. The passage is clearly organized.) Content (The main topic is identifiable and clearly identified with the category. The passage has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Conflicts are resolved within the story. Ideas within the passage are coherent.) Overall creativity 40% 40% 20% The 3 entries per category receiving the highest overall scores in each of the 3 grade levels will be deemed Finalists. Finalists will be contacted by phone or . Page 8

9 Finalists entries will be posted on beginning about 9:00:00 AM Eastern time on April 19, 2013 through 11:59:59 AM Eastern time on May 3, 2013, to be viewed by members of the general public who will be asked to vote for their favorite Entry in each category in each of the 3 grade levels, based on the above criteria ("Voting Period"). Individuals must be 18 years or older to vote. Individuals may vote only one time per category in each of the 3 grade levels during the Voting Period. The use of robotic or automatic devices for voting is prohibited and Sponsor reserves the right to nullify all such votes and to disqualify from voting the responsible individual. The panel of guest judging specialists will then judge the 3 Finalists in each of the categories in each of the 3 grade levels. The online consumer votes will determine 30% of Entrant's final score and the panel of guest judging specialists will determine 70% of Entrant's final score. The 12 Finalists (one per category in each of the 3 grade levels) with the top overall scores will each win the Prize described above for their schools ( Winners ). In the event of a tie during the judges' phase or after the Entrants' scores have been tabulated, tied Entries will be re-judged by the judges from the Sponsor s panel of judges based solely on content. Decisions of judges are final with respect to all matters relating to this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right not to award a Finalist or Winner for any of the categories in any or all grade levels if Sponsor deems the Entries unsatisfactory either in whole or part in any such grade levels and/or categories. 4. WINNER NOTIFICATION: Winners will be contacted by phone and/or and will be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release (where legal) within seven (7) days of notification attempt. In addition, if applicable, the principal or other authorized administrator at the Winner s school will also be contacted via phone and required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of notification attempt. In the event of a failure to return the requested executed affidavits and releases within the foregoing time frames, an alternate Winner will be determined based on the nexthighest score in the judging for that category. In addition, return of prize or prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and alternate Winner selected. 5. GENERAL RULES: By participating in the Contest, each Entrant agrees to these Official Rules and to the decisions of the judges, whose decisions are final and binding in all respects. Entrants agree to sign all necessary releases, consents and authorizations in connection therewith and to sign any additional documentation Sponsor may require in connection with the Contest and/or to transfer the rights granted in the Rules. Unless otherwise prohibited by law, submission of Entries constitutes permission to use the Entrant's name, likeness, biographical information, state/province/country, and Page 9

10 Entry for publishing, advertising and publicity purposes, without compensation. Contest participation constitutes permission for Sponsor to share the Entrant's information with any of their partners (for prize fulfillment and future marketing programs). 6. No substitution or transfer of prizes by Winner permitted. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any prize with a prize of comparable value if any prize becomes unavailable. Taxes, fees, and any other expenses not specified herein are the sole responsibility of Winners. In the event the school or school district for the winning Entry has a policy which prohibits the awarding of a prize to an employee, the teacher prize will be forfeited. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Sponsor and its agents are not responsible for technical, hardware, or software malfunctions, telephone failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, lost, late, incomplete, lost, garbled or delayed electronic communications and/or Entries or parts thereof, whether caused by the sender or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Contest which may limit the ability to participate or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the submissions or votes in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Contest, in whole or part, if it (or the voting) becomes technically corrupted, or in the event of error, and it may in its sole discretion determine the Finalists and/or Winners from eligible Entries received per grade level and category prior to cancellation and all votes received prior to cancellation. 6. Privacy Notice: The contact information, such as name, address, and address, obtained through this Entry, may be shared within The McGraw- Hill Companies businesses for marketing purposes. For more information, see the McGraw-Hill School Education Group Privacy and Cookie notice at The McGraw- Hill Companies' Customer Privacy Policy can be found at If you have any questions about the uses we make of this information or if you would like to review the accuracy of the information you submitted, please contact us at seg_privacy@mcgraw-hill.com or mail a written request to McGraw-Hill School Education Group Customer Privacy Official, 8787 Orion Place, Columbus, OH Page 10

11 7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: ENTRANTS (AND PARTICIPATING STUDENT(S) AND THEIR PARENTS/LEGAL GUARDIANS) HEREBY RELEASE AND DISCHARGE SPONSOR AND ITS ASSIGNS AND LICENSEES FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS CONTEST, ANY USE OF ACCEPTANCE OF A PRIZE, OR THEIR USE OF ANY ENTRY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY CLAIMS FOR DEFAMATION, INVASION OF PRIVACY OR RIGHT OF PUBLICITY. NEITHER SPONSOR, SHYCAST, NOR THEIR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, SUBSIDIARIES, OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES, OR THEIR ADVERTISING AND CONTEST AGENCIES, SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY OR GOODWILL IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONTEST OR ANY USE OF ANY PRIZE. IN ALL EVENTS, THE SOLE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF SPONSOR, AND ITS RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE OF THE PRIZES SET FORTH HEREIN. 8. DISPUTES: The state or federal courts in New York, New York shall have sole and exclusive jurisdiction of any controversies regarding the Contest and the laws of the State of New York, USA shall govern the same, without regard to their choice of law provisions. Each Entrant waives any and all objections to jurisdiction and hereby submits to the venue of those courts within the state and city of New York, USA. 9. WINNERS: For the names of the winners, available after May 10, 2013, visit Page 11