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Hello everyone!
It’s been an unforgettable year in LifeSmarts. As we marked our 30th anniversary, we took time to reflect on our past, celebrate our present, and envision the future. While thirty years is a long time, it is also just the beginning. We can look back at 30 years of remarkable progress in educating teens through our work together. And now, we look forward to celebrating opportunities, challenges, and achievements for many years to come.
American astronaut Jim Lovell once said, “There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.” Together, we celebrate our success in preparing the youth of today to become responsible consumer citizens. Thank you for your support of LifeSmarts as well as your contributions to our success.
Speaking of success, please join us in celebrating our 2024 Varsity National LifeSmarts Champion team from Dallas High School in Pennsylvania and our first-ever Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Champion Team, Gordon County 4-H from Georgia!
We look forward to providing more opportunities for student success when we open our 31st LifeSmarts season on August 1!
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20 Point Club
Congratulations to the LifeSmarts participants who achieved perfect scores on an online topic assessment this year.
Capstone
Braden Shaw. McGee’s Crossroads Middle School JV, NC
Nicole Green, Kansas
Kourtney Dibben, Kansas
Panahbouth Mao, Stamford FCCLA, Texas
Macie Ladd, Selah Gold FCCLA, Washington
Jamiyah Cleveland, 4Rings FBLA, Alabama
Milly Lyle, Bartow County 4-H JV, Georgia
Kalese Lapsley, FMS25b, Alabama
A'nijha Tubbs, FMS25, Alabama
Mahi Dhol, Dallas High School, Pennsylvania
Marie Popielarz, Dallas High School, Pennsylvania
Tykeria Hawkins, FMS25b, Alabama
Mahanth Komuravelli, Edison_Academy_Magnet_Kirubakaran_Komuravelli, NJ
Logan Nguyen, Pewaukee Pirates, Wisconsin
Keaton Fisher, Calhan Varsity A, Colorado
Jasper Murrin, LifeSmarts for Life, West Virginia
Kayla Nguyen, Waipahu Team 8, Hawaii
Cassandra Barut, Maryknoll Spartans, Hawaii
Angelica Santos, Waipahu, Team 2, Hawaii
William Parish – Gordon County 4-H Varsity, Georgia
Bud Aichele – Cumberland Valley Varsity, Pennsylvania Consumer Rights & Responsibilities
Amay Arora, School Without Walls FBLA, DC
Ishaan Pabla, School Without Walls FBLA, DC
Andrew Loznianu, Stow-Munroe Falls BPA Team 8, OH
Elan Mcclain, Floyd County 4-H, GA
Tykeria Hawkins, FMS25b, Alabama
Jakylia Sewell, Alabama
Aditya Kirubakaran, Edison_Academy_Magnet_Kirubakaran_Komuravelli, NJ
Artem Smagin, Dallas High School, PA
Ryan Solensky, Jamestown High School White, North Dakota
Aileen Kang, Kalani 5.0, Hawaii
Samantha Nagai, Waipahu Team 1, Hawaii
Environment
Amay Arora, School Without Walls FBLA, DC
Kalese Lapsley, FMs25b Alabama
Brandon Tran, Kalani 4.2, Hawaii
Health & Safety
Panahbouth Mao, Stamford FCCLA, Texas
Mya Thomas, FMS25b, Alabama
Maria Huch, John Marshall FBLA 1, West Virginia Personal Finance
Jamiyah Cleveland, 4 Rings FBLA, Alabama
Amy Tavares, Center Point Eagles FBLA, Alabama
Kareem Almeky, Dallas High School, Pennsylvania
Riley Dewey, Dallas High School, Pennsylvania
Ember Fredrickson, Burke Central-Warman FBLA, Pennsylvania
Ben Varner, Pewaukee Pirates, Wisconsin
Ryan Solensky, Jamestown High School White, North Dakota
Reese Heckemeyer, Comet Commanders Varsity, Missouri
Kaleb King, Gordon County 4-H Varsity, Georgia
Chloe Doiron, West Fel 1, Louisiana
Marc Perrizo, Oconto LifeSmarts, Wisconsin
Dana Tomasevic, West Chicago 1, IllinoisTechnology & Workforce Preparation
Nicholas Munkhbaatar, MLHMH BPA, California
Christian Michalak, SMFHS Varsity Team 2, Ohio
Indiana Hilmes, Selah Gold FCCLA, Washington
Hannah Christianson, Selah Gold FCCLA, Washington
Tarik Kulic, SMFHS Varsity Team 2, Ohio
Dale Loughridge, Lyons High Varsity, Kansas
CONGRATULATIONS to all these students. Coaches, certificates can be downloaded here for personalization.Host a LifeSmarts Day Camp!
Focus on one topic a day for success!
- Monday – Health & Safety (water safety, camping safety, driving
safety, and outdoor cookery / picnic safety while preparing their own lunch and more)
- Tuesday – Personal Finance (conduct a personal finance/ poverty simulation; play a money or credit board game; conduct a budget-planning challenge – let the campers plan a fun day with a set budget for the group)
- Wednesday – Consumer Rights & Responsibilities (make up a rap or song about the Consumer Bill of Rights; make a video or reel to share about consumer rights; plan a project with citizenscience.gov)
- Thursday – Environment (do an environmental community service project, take kids on a grocery store scavenger hunt to look for environmentally-friendly packaging and have them take photos on their phones)
- Friday – Technology & Workforce Preparation (have students complete LifeSmarts Adventure modules, have students invent a LifeSmarts Tech or Workforce Prep / career game; have students produce a Flippity, Kahoot or Quizizz)
Have ideas or examples you’d like to share? What ideas do you have for themed LifeSmarts days? We’d love to share your ideas here.
Win a gift card! Complete our year-end coach survey
There is still time for you to complete our year-end coach input survey here. Those who respond by May 30 will be entered in a drawing for gift cards. We appreciate your feedback on what we do well, what we can do better, new projects and awards we have implemented, and your ideas that would make it easier for you and your students to be part of LifeSmarts!
Summer Study
Don’t forget these LifeSmarts online learning resources
Remote Part-time Internship with LifeSmarts
LifeSmarts alumni are invited to apply for a LifeSmarts remote, part-time, summer internship. We are looking for motivated interns to support the LifeSmarts program and assist the program staff with ongoing projects and research. Internships provide opportunities to: develop LifeSmarts materials such as study aids to be posted on our website; write questions, vocabulary and quizzes for the LifeSmarts online and live competitions; work
on special projects; and more. Remote internships are generally 20 hours per week with flexible hours and are non-paid. We are happy to consider the particular interests of applicants and will assign specific projects, complete paperwork, etc., as needed for class credit. For more information and details on how to apply, please contact the LifeSmarts staff. Coaches, we would appreciate you sharing this opportunity with any eligible alumni.
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New Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Champions
Congratulations once again to the NEW Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Champions, Gordon County 4-H JV from Georgia. In a very close final match Georgia prevailed by just five points over team Kansas, Trailridge Middle School Seek 1.
Third place honors went to Florida – Northview 4-H JV Team 1 and Nebraska, Kearney Catholic Middle School JV.
We’d like to congratulate all our 2024 State Junior Varsity Champion Teams!
Competed in the Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship:
Colorado – Larimer County 4-H JV Team, Larimer County 4-H, Colorado 4-H
Florida – Northview JV Team 1, Northview 4-H Club, Florida 4-H
Georgia – Gordon County 4-H JV, Georgia 4-H
Kansas – Trailridge Middle School Seek 1
Minnesota – Russell Tyler Ruthton Middle School Sixth Grade FCCLA
Missouri –Owensville Middle School
Seek 1
Nebraska – Kearney Catholic Middle School JV
North Carolina – McGee's Crossroads Middle School JV
North Dakota – Rambling Wreck from LMHS, Litchville-Marion High School 8th Grade
Texas – Bulldog Pups, Bartlett Middle
High School FCCLA
Wisconsin –Oconto Middle School JV LifeSmarts
Unable to compete in the Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship:
Alabama – Hubbertville FCCLA, Hubbertville School
Kentucky –MC Cardinals 2 – Martin County Middle School 4-H, Kentucky 4-H
Want to start a LifeSmarts Junior Varsity Team? Let us know. We are here to help!
National LifeSmarts Championship Scavenger Hunt winners
Congratulations to North East High School from Pennsylvania, and Harrison County 4-H from Kentucky for winning our National LifeSmarts Championship scavenger hunt. Prizes will be mailed to your team coach! Congratulations! Both teams did an amazing job! Check out their
photos on Instagram!
Save the date for Chicago!
The 2025 National LifeSmarts Championship will be in the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois, April 24-27, 2025. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago is a vibrant multicultural city renowned for its breathtaking architecture and iconic skylines. LifeSmarts competitors can enjoy all that the city has to offer, including indulging in a slice of deep-dish pizza or the iconic caramel popcorn. Teams can enjoy admiring the city from the water, discovering its sports arenas, savoring Chicago’s delicious dishes, visiting the amazing museums and more! There’s something for everyone to enjoy! Be sure to save the date and plan now to be with us for the 31st Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship.Start planning now for a successful 2024-2025 season
- Online registration and competition begins on August 1, 2024
- Monthly TeamSmarts quizzes with cash prizes for Varsity, Junior Varsity, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, 4-H and SkillsUSA teams will run August through February including the new Amazing August TeamSmarts which will be open from August 1–31
- Varsity State LifeSmarts competitions will occur between December 1, 2024 and February 28, 2025
- Junior Varsity Competition must be completed in all states by April 1, 2025
- 2025 Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship: April 24-27, 2025, Chicago,
IL
- 2025 Virtual Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship – May 8-9, 2025
Rewatch the National LifeSmarts Championship semi-finals and finals
You can still watch the exciting 2024 Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship finals here.
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CEU’s for LifeSmarts coaches
LifeSmarts coaches, teachers, advisors, Extension agents / program assistants, and volunteers: be sure to apply for your Continuing Education Units! As a LifeSmarts coach, you can apply for Continuing Education Units. All the information you need, including how to calculate your CEU’s, is available here. You can also apply for and receive your CEU certificate directly through the site. Get credit for the great work that you do with your LifeSmarts students and teams!
Good luck to FBLA LifeSmarts Challenge finalist teams
On June 30, 20 high-scoring FBLA teams will compete in Orlando in the FBLA LifeSmarts Challenge finals at the FBLA National Leadership Conference. We look forward to working with these amazing teams and coaches!
Good luck to FCCLA/LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl teams
Sixteen top FCCLA teams will compete June 30 in the FCCLA / LifeSmarts Knowledge Bowl finals as part of the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Seattle, WA. Best of luck to these fantastic teams and coaches!
SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl
LifeSmarts will participate in the SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl during the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, GA, June 26-27, 2024, in partnership with SkillsUSA. Good luck to the secondary and post-secondary teams competing!
SkillUSA Health & Safety Challenge Winner!
Congrats to the winning team in our LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Health & Safety Challenge! This team has won a cash prize from LifeSmarts:
- CDJX Health Knowledge Bowl Team – Challenger Early College HS and CVCC – North Carolina
Way to go!
4-H Summer Online Challenge – August 5-31, 2024
4-H teams who are interested in expanding their LifeSmarts knowledge are invited to participate in a special online quiz over the summer. The quiz will be held during the month of August. If you have a Junior Varsity or a Varsity level 4-H team that would be interested in taking the online quiz, visit this link, click on 4-H Summer Challenge and email Cherylv@nclnet.org
Special thanks to all our youth leadership partner organizations for a fantastic year!
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LifeSparks Award Winners
Congratulations to these teams that earned 30 credits on the LifeSparks Award application for creating sparks in their LifeSmarts team this year through robust participation, demonstrating exceptional knowledge in all LifeSmarts topics, and going above and beyond in the community:
Winners are:
4 Rings, Francis Marion School FBLA, Alabama
Altitude 9.0, Flagstaff Home Educators, Arizona
Calhan Varsity A, Calhan High School, Colorado
Crosby Bulldogs, Crosby High School, Connecticut
Country Clovers, Country Clovers / Delaware 4-H, Delaware
Gordon County 4-H JV, Georgia 4-H, Georgia
Gordon County 4-H Varsity, Georgia 4-H, Georgia
Tift County 4-H, Georgia 4-H, Georgia
Columbia County 4-H Varsity, Georgia 4-H, Georgia
Team Hawaii, Kalani High School, Hawaii
Teal Taters, Minidoka County 4-H, Idaho 4-H, Idaho
West Fel, West Feliciana High School, Louisiana
LCWM Grey, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School, Minnesota
LCWM Silver, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School, Minnesota
LCWM Blue, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School, Minnesota
LCWM Knights, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School, Minnesota
LCWM Black, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Schools, Minnesota
LCWM, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School, Minnesota
Puckett High School FCCLA – Puckett High School, Mississippi
LTCC Yellowjacket Swarm, Lebanon Technology and Career Center, Missouri
Macks Creek/Ex Nihilo, Macks Creek RV, Missouri
McGee's Crossroads Middle School JV, North Carolina
The Ramblin’ Wreck JV, Litchville-Marion High School, North Dakota
The Destroyers, Litchville-Marion High School, North Dakota
Money Hounds, Litchville-Marion High School, North Dakota
The Squad, Riverside High School/Ohio Hi-Point Career Center BPA, Ohio
Pryor Tigers, Pryor High School, Oklahoma
Dallas, Dallas High School, Pennsylvania
Irmo High School, South Carolina
Bartlett FCCLA, Bartlett ISD, Texas
Econoponax, Massaponax High School, Virginia
Robinson Ace, Robinson Secondary School - Virginia
Manor High School, Virginia
LifeSmarts for Life, John Marshall High School, West VirginiaAnd the TOP SEVEN LifeSparks
winners are:
- First Place – West Fel – West Feliciana High School, Louisiana - $150.00
- Second Place – Gordon County 4-H Varsity, Georgia; Riverside High School/Ohio Hi-Point Career Center BPA - Ohio; and Manor High School, Virginia - $75.00 each
- Third Place – Calhan Varsity A, Calhan High School, Colorado; Tift County 4-H, Georgia; and Pryor Tigers, Pryor High School, Oklahoma - $25.00 each
Take a Leap –
LifeSmarts LEAP panel
LifeSmarts LEAP is a select group of teens who will work with the LifeSmarts program staff and others to brainstorm ways LifeSmarts can “Leap” forward, share ideas to better the LifeSmarts program, and help LifeSmarts reach more youth and potential coaches. Students must currently be in grades 9-11 and must be willing to network with other members in-person and online to accomplish assigned tasks. The panel will be invited to participate in Nationals 2025 planning and some members will have the chance to attend to help. While not a requirement, it is helpful if nominees have participated in the LifeSmarts National Championship. Further details will be provided to those selected to serve. Coaches, please discuss this with
students you would like to nominate before using this form to nominate them. Students should be outgoing and able to complete work on their own. Virtual interviews will be conducted with finalists via Zoom. Questions? Email Cheryl Varnadoe at cherylv@nclnet.org. Nomination deadline is June 15, 2024.
With this issue, SmartStart goes on hiatus until August. We will open our 31st season of LifeSmarts on August 1 and look forward to reconnecting with you and your students then.
Be sure to work with your school or organization to make certain LifeSmarts emails are able to reach you! We value each and every one of you, and hope that all our coaches, teachers, educators, agents, program assistants, and advisers have a safe and happy summer. Thank you again for a wonderful
year!
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Help LifeSmarts reach even more students this year! Donate today.
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