March SmartStart

LifeSmarts Educational Strategies and Applications

LifeSmarts provides real-world education for middle school and high school students. And it equips young people with the knowledge they need to help them succeed in adult life. While students learn about core consumer topics, they develop critical thinking skills in an interdisciplinary format.

To help educators easily adopt the program, LifeSmarts aligns with the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) Language Arts Standards. It provides educators with a manageable set of consumer concepts, keywords, and content vocabulary activities to enliven instruction in family and consumer sciences, business, technology classes, and more.

Classroom teachers, LifeSmarts coaches, and community educators will find that LifeSmarts also aligns with 21st Century Skills and provides meaningful activities, lessons, and competitions within the classroom and beyond.

Visit the LifeSmarts Educational Strategies and Applications page for educational documents you can use in your role as a LifeSmarts educator and coach. These include: The LifeSmarts Educational Pedagogy; LifeSmarts Lingo – How to Speak the LifeSmarts Language;

LifeSmarts StudySmart Guides

Check out our brand new LifeSmarts StudySmart Guides to help you jump into focused content. Our two new guides focus on Moving Tips and Time Management. We will be adding additional guides in the coming weeks.

New March Mayhem TeamSmarts

The NEW March Mayhem Capstone TeamSmarts Challenge quiz which includes questions from all five LifeSmarts topics is open until 11:55 PM on March 31. The quiz features topics that students have focused on this year in LifeSmarts. This quiz is open to all teams, and prizes are available to teams who have not previously won this year. Prizes of $100 cash will be awarded to the top-scoring Varsity, JV, 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA teams who compete. Don’t miss out!

LifeSparks Award Applications Due Soon

Put all your LifeSmarts accomplishments to work by applying for the new LifeSmarts LifeSparks awards. The new LifeSmarts LifeSparks Award recognizes exemplary LifeSmarts Teams in honor of our milestone 30th anniversary. All LifeSmarts teams are invited to participate in this new recognition program. Teams will be honored for robust participation; demonstrating exceptional knowledge in all LifeSmarts topics, including consumer right & responsibilities, personal finance, technology & workforce preparation, health & safety, and the environment; and going above and beyond in the community. All LifeSmarts teams that have gained 30 credits throughout the 2023-24 program year will be recognized with this year’s LifeSmarts LifeSparks Awards, and a few lucky teams will win special prizes! Teams do not have to compete in either the Varsity or Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championships to earn this honor. Teams will use the LifeSparks scorecard to map out their winning strategy to reach 30 credits by March 31, and apply for the award by the April 5, 2024, deadline. Visit this link for additional information, the points scorecard, and the official application. We can’t wait for your team to shine as the earn their LifeSparks Award!

Congratulations to these LifeSmarts Varsity, Wild Card Champions and Sweepstakes teams!

State Champions and Wild Card Teams Competing in the National LifeSmarts Championship:

Alabama – Francis Marion School FBLA – 4 Rings

Arizona – Altitude 9.0 – Flagstaff Home Educators
Colorado – Calhan Varsity – Calhan High School

Connecticut – Crosby Bulldogs – Crosby High School
D.C. – Schools Without Walls FBLA

Delaware – Country Clovers Varsity Team – Delaware 4-H
Florida – Duval 4-H LifeSmarts Team, Florida 4-H
Georgia – Gordon County 4-H Varsity – Georgia 4-H
Hawaii – Kalani 4.2 – Kalani High School
Idaho – Teal Taters 4-H Varsity – Minidoka Co. 4-H Teen Association
Illinois – West Chicago High School
Kansas – Lyons High School Varsity
Kentucky – Harrison County 4-H – Kentucky 4-H
Louisiana – Acadiana 1 – Acadiana High School
Michigan – Fenton High School
Minnesota – Blue – Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School
Missouri – OHS Bulldogs – Odessa High School
North Dakota – The Money Hounds – Litchville Marion High School
Ohio – Riverside High School/Ohio Hi-Point Career Center BPA

Oklahoma – Pryor Tigers – Pryor High School
Pennsylvania – Dallas High School
Rhode Island – Tolman Tigers – Tolman High School
South Carolina – Swansea High School 4-H –South Carolina 4-H
Texas – Bartlett FCCLA – Bartlett High School
Virginia – Econoponax – Massoponax High School
Washington – Selah Gold – Selah High School FCCLA

West Virginia – LifeSmarts for Life – John Marshall High School
Wisconsin – Oconto High School

Wyoming – Buffalo High School Varsity 7

Norton Wild Card 1 – Gwinnett County 4-H –Georgia
Norton Wild Card 2 – Benton County 4-H –Arkansas
Norton Wild Card 3 – Madison County 4-H –Tennessee
Norton Wild Card 4 – Irmo High School –South Carolina
Norton Wild Card 5 – Puckett High School FCCLA – Mississippi

Norton Wild Card 6 – Macks Creek High School – Missouri
Norton Wild Card 7 – White Bear Lake Area Learning Center – Minnesota
Norton Wild Card 8 – La Vernia FCCLA –Texas
Norton Wild Card 9 – Northwest High School – Missouri
Norton Wild Card 10 – Manor High School –Virginia

Sweepstakes Team 1 – Cobb County 4-H – Georgia 4-H
Sweepstakes Team 2 – West Feliciana High School – Louisiana
Sweepstakes Team 3 – Blair Oaks High School – Missouri
Sweepstakes Team 4 – Larimer County 4-H – Colorado
Sweepstakes Team 5 – Ritchie County High School – West Virginia

Varsity Wild Card 1 – Tift County 4-H, Georgia 4-H
Varsity Wild Card 2 – North East High School - Pennsylvania

Varsity Wild Card 3 – JCHS FCCLA - Junction City High School – Kansas

Varsity Wild Card 4 – Robinson Aced – Robinson Secondary School – Virginia
Varsity Wild Card 5 – Pewaukee Pirates, Pewaukee High School – Wisconsin

State Champions Unable to Compete at the National LifeSmarts Championship:

California – Da’Bruins- Campbell Union High School District
Indiana – SHS GB Team 7 – Shelbyville High School

Iowa – Southeast Polk FCCLA – Southeast Polk High School

Minnesota – Russell Tyler Ruthton High School
Mississippi – TSA – Winston-Louisville CTE
Nebraska – Cross County FCCLA 2 – Cross Country High School

New Jersey – Edison Academy Magnet School Team #1 – FBLA
Rhode Island – Cougars 5 – North Providence High School
Tennessee – Madison County 4-H Team B

Junior Varsity Champions
Junior Varsity Champions will be competing in our first-ever Virtual National Junior Varsity National Championship in May! Check your state deadlines since the online Junior Varsity competition is ongoing in many states until April 5! Contact LifeSmarts if you have any questions.

February TeamSmarts Capstone Quiz Winners
Thanks to all the participants in the February TeamSmarts Capstone Quiz!

Congrats to these TeamSmarts Challenge winners! Each winning team receives a $100 cash prize.
Varsity: Altitude 9.0
Junior Varsity: Cobb 4-H Junior Varsity 2023

4-H: TIE – Both teams receive cash prizes: Teal Taters 4-H Varsity – Minidoka Co. 4-H Teen Association, Idaho 4-H and Country Clovers Varsity Team – Delaware 4-H

BPA: Stow-Munroe Falls BPA Team 8, Stow, Ohio

FCCLA: FCCLA 4, Kaplan High School, Kaplan, LA

FBLA: Palm Springs Middle School JV FBLA, Hialeah, FL

Congratulations to the BPA Personal Finance Challenge Winners!

Kudos to the 52 BPA Teams who completed the LifeSmarts BPA Personal Finance Challenge during the month of February!

Congratulations to the top two teams; both win a $100 cash prize:

OHVA – CTE – Team A, Ohio Virtual Academy, Westerville, OH and
Polaris Career Center BPOT Team 1 – Polaris Career Center BPOT – Middleburg Heights, OH

Want to find out more about how BPA teams can participate in LifeSmarts? Visit the LifeSmarts BPA page.

LifeSmarts FBLA Spring Challenge results
Thanks to all the terrific FBLA teams who competed in the LifeSmarts FBLA Spring Challenge! The twelve qualifying teams from the Spring Challenge are:

Alabama – Francis Marion School 5 – Shamyah Briggins and Jakyrria Bradford
California – Eleanor Roosevelt High School –Aaron Soekiatno and Evan Nim
Florida – Suncoast High School FBLA – Rishith Arra and Sebastian Gadala-Maria

Illinois – Normal Community High School – Sarayu Parsi and Samhitha Lavanur
Missouri – Eugene High School – Nicklaus Doerhoff and Zachariah Ernst
Nevada – AACT – Reza Rahimzadeh and William Knoebel
New Jersey – Edison Academy Magnet School – Aaditya Mittal and Jaival Jariwala
North Carolina – J H Rose High School FBLA – Amma Late Nisbet and Zofia Silver
North Dakota – Divide County High School FBLA – Billi Fortier and Jayda DeJardinr
Virginia – Robinson Secondary School – Shaan Agarwal and Valerie Woronicak

West Virginia – John Marshall High School FBLA – Maria Huch and Aleesa Hall
Wisconsin – Pewaukee High School – Logan Nguyen and Texas Maki

Winners from the Fall and Spring Challenges are invited to compete in the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge finals at NLC in Orlando on June 30. Reach out to us with questions. We look forward to meeting all 24 teams in the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge finals. Best of luck to each of the teams and their fantastic FBLA advisers!

SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge Deadline Extended

We have extended the timeline for SkillsUSA teams to compete in the LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge. SkillsUSA students have a chance to compete in their own special LifeSmarts competition this month. The LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge is open until March 31 at 11:55 PM EST. Cash prizes will be awarded to the highest scoring high school (Varsity) teams. Visit this page to learn more! Use this information to register. To make it easier, just the Coach and the Team Captain have to register online, but SkillsUSA teams competing in this event may have between three and five members per team, with one member serving as the team captain. Chapters may have as many teams as they like. This is excellent practice for the SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl! Questions? Contact LifeSmarts at cherylv@nclnet.org. Good luck to all our SkillsUSA advisers/coaches, students and teams!

Deadline is March 15 for LifeSmarts community service senior scholarship

Coaches, please nominate a stand-out graduating LifeSmarts senior for the Sarah Weinberg LifeSmarts Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded annually to a LifeSmarts participant who demonstrates a commitment to volunteer service work, like Sarah did. Scholarship applications are due March 15. The winner does not have to be competing in the National LifeSmarts Championship. One $500 scholarship will be awarded. Nominate a student here.

Complete our coach survey to win gift cards

We want to keep improving the LifeSmarts experience for all our coaches and students. Please take five minutes to complete the end-of-year coach survey . All coaches who complete the survey will be entered to win gift cards! Coaches, we would especially appreciate quotes from you about your LifeSmarts experience. Deadline to complete the survey is May 15, 2024. Thank you for your feedback and for your participation in LifeSmarts.

Volunteer at the National LifeSmarts Championship in San Diego

We need volunteers April 19 and 20 for the National LifeSmarts Championship in San Diego. We encourage LifeSmarts alumni, supporters, members, former coaches, and current and former state coordinators to make plans to join us. Have friends and colleagues in the San Diego, California, area that would like to help? Please share this information with them. To sign up, click here.

Dates to remember this month:

Teams attending Nationals should adhere to deadlines in the Nationals Coach memo and the weekly San Diego Celebration Central e-news.
March 15: Sarah Weinberg Scholarship nominations due

March 15: National LifeSmarts Championship Team registrations due

March 19: National LifeSmarts Championship Volunteer registration due

March 19: National LifeSmarts Championship hotel reservations due

March 31: March Mayhem TeamSmarts Quiz Deadline

March 31: SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge Deadline

Throwbacks to 1994
Many iconic, award-winning films were released this year, including Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption and Schindler’s List. The popular sitcom Friends hit our screens for the first time, beginning a decade of laughter and watching the gang drink coffee at Central Perk. Hit songs included Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from the Lion King, “Hero” by Mariah Carey,” The Sign” by Ace of Base, “Whatta Man” and “Shoop” by Salt-n-Pepa, “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow and “Whoomp (There it is)” by Tag Team.