February SmartStart

Traveling Safely with Teens

Travel season is upon us. Whether vacationing with your own family for spring break or leading a team of students at an event, traveling with teenagers brings a set of unique challenges. You may be traveling with students who are on their own for the first time. With good planning, preparation, and communication, traveling with teens can be safe and fun. Here are just a few travel tips to help you and your students stay safe and healthy as you go!

Work with your team on packing efficiently. Students must be able to carry and take care of their own luggage and carry-on bags.
Remember, most airlines charge for checked bags.
Cover any emergency evacuation procedures if traveling by train, bus, or airplane.
Allow extra time for arrival. Travel always takes longer with a group.
Check the size of your suitcase carefully. If you are planning to just use a carry-on, be certain it will fit in the overhead bin.
Save money by packing snacks.

For additional recommendations, we’ve created a Traveling with Teens infographic, including tips for air travel, hotel safety, digital safety, and more.

This month, our focus at LifeSmarts is on all five topic areas, and we are excited to highlight these educational resources that are featured in this year's competitions:
StudySmart Guides
Updated LifeSmarts Way or No Way PowerPoint

LifeSmarts U Lessons:

Be sure to visit LifeSmarts U for additional lessons.

Check out our new LifeSmarts Interactive Games page. Also, search the hundreds of resources shared by fellow LifeSmarts coaches on Quizizz, Quizlet, Kahoot, Flippity, Cram, Flashcard Machine, etc.

Congratulations to the following Varsity State LifeSmarts Champions!

Alabama - Hub FCCLA Varsity 2024-25
Arizona – Altitude 10.0
Colorado – Larimer County 4-H Varsity Team
Connecticut – Crosby Bulldogs, Crosby High School
Florida – Northview 4-H Varsity Team 1
Indiana – Franklin County High School
Kansas – Hoisington High School, HHS Cardinals
Louisiana – West Feliciana High School, Orange
Ohio – Ohio Hi-Point Academy Pirate’s Booty
Oklahoma – Pryor Tigers
Rhode Island – Barrington High School
South Carolina – Irmo Stingers
Texas – Bartlett FCCLA Varsity

Stay tuned! New State Varsity Champions are being named each day.

State deadlines
Many more LifeSmarts State Championships conclude this month. Be sure to check out the details for your state here as well as on our LifeSmarts events calendar. Once again, we will be able to provide community service stipends to help defray travel expenses for many competing teams. Don’t miss your chance to advance to the 2025 National LifeSmarts Championship, April 24-27, 2025, in Chicago! Contact your State LifeSmarts Coordinator with questions and get started on your path to the National LifeSmarts Championship. Contact us if you have any questions or need assistance.

Junior Varsity National Championship
We will host our second Virtual Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship virtually on May 14-15, 2025. We would love to have your team of students in grades 6 – 8 compete!

Many states do not have an in-person Junior Varsity Championship. Until March 1, teams from those states can test online to qualify for the Junior Varsity Championship.

To qualify, at least four students (limit of 5) on your Junior Varsity team should log in to LifeSmarts. Click on the LifeSmarts Competition 2024-2025 folder they will see on the front of their dashboard when they log in. In that folder, students should first take the pre-quiz to unlock the five topic quizzes, then proceed through the five twenty-question topic quizzes. Once those are completed, they take the capstone quiz, located in the same folder. If you have an FCCLA, FBLA, BPA, 4-H, or another team type with students in grades 6-8, you can add Junior Varsity as a team type to that existing team to allow them to compete. Please note that we do require 4 – 5 students per team. You may also choose to create a new team as students can be on both a Junior Varsity as well as another organization team type. You may also edit teams and delete or add team members. Be certain to choose a team captain for every team.

We have great prizes for the teams so why not take advantage of our National Junior Varsity Championship? Contact us with any questions!

TeamSmart Winners
Congratulations to the January 2025 Environment TeamSmarts Challenge winners Each of these teams has earned a $100 award!

Junior Varsity: Gordon County 4-H JV, Georgia 4-H, Calhoun, GA 
Varsity: Altitude 10.0, Flagstaff Home Educators, Flagstaff, AZ
4-H: Tift County 4-H Varsity, Georgia 4-H, Tifton, GA 
BPA: Polaris Career Center BPOT Team 13, Polaris Career Center, Middleburg Heights, OH 
FBLA: Burke Central-Heinrich, Burke Central High School, Lignite, ND 
FCCLA: 2024 Puckett High FCCLA Team 1, Puckett, MS 
SkillsUSA: Quiz Bowl, Delcastle Technical High School, Wilmington, Delaware

Congratulations to the December 2024 Consumer Rights TeamSmarts Challenge winners Each of these teams has also earned a $100 award!

Junior Varsity: JV- Columbia County 4-H – Appling, GA, Georgia 4-H Varsity:
Lo Meins – Pennsylvania – Pine Grove Area School District, Pine Grove, PA 
4-H: Gordon County 4-H Varsity – Calhoun, GA, Georgia 4-H 
FBLA: PPOS/CPA FBLA LifeSmarts Challenge – Pikes Peak Online School, Westminster, CO

BPA Technology & Workforce Preparation Challenge Winner:
Congratulations to all the BPA teams that competed in our 2025 LifeSmarts BPA Technology & Workforce Preparation Challenge! The winning team is MHS BPA 1, Montgomery High School BPA, Montgomery, TX. This team received a $100 award.
Way to go!

SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz Winner
Congratulations to all the SkillsUSA teams that competed in our 2025 LifeSmarts SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl Preparatory Quiz! The winning team is AAI SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl, Georgia.

February Capstone TeamSmarts Challenge
The February Capstone TeamSmarts Challenge quiz focusing on all five LifeSmarts topic categories is open until 11:55 PM on February 28. This quiz is open to all teams who have not previously won TeamSmarts this year, so don’t miss out on the chance for your team to win one of the cash prizes! Consider it an extra chance to win $100 for your school or organization's LifeSmarts team. Prizes will be awarded to the top-scoring Varsity, JV, 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA teams who join us by competing during the month of February.

LifeSmarts FBLA Spring Challenge is open until February 21
FBLA teams – now is your chance to compete in the LifeSmarts FBLA Spring Challenge to earn one of the final 12 spots to advance to the Finals at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando in June. The challenge is open and closes at 11:55 PM EST, February 21.

To complete the LifeSmarts FBLA Challenge, teams of two high school or two middle school FBLA students (with one serving as the team captain) complete:

Two online quizzes together – one 50-question Personal Finance Quiz andone 50-question Consumer Rights Quiz. These are called “TeamSmarts” quizzes since they work as a team to complete them. These are only available from the Team Captain’s LifeSmarts Quizzes tab.
Each of the 2 team members also completes an individual 60-question Quiz that covers Personal Finance and all other LifeSmarts topic areas

More information on how to register is on the FBLA Adviser / Coach Starter Guide. Learn more here. Contact us if you need help. Good luck to all our FBLA teams!

Compete in the LifeSmarts BPA Personal Finance Challenge
BPA teams can complete this month in the LifeSmarts BPA Personal Finance Challenge now through February 28th. The highest scoring BPA Varsity (grades 9-12) and Junior Varsity (grades 7-8) teams will receive cash prizes. BPA teams have two members per team, with one member serving as the team captain. Chapters may have as many teams as they like. IMPORTANT: If teams are Middle School students, advisors should choose BPA and JV as the team type. Advisers/coaches can learn more here and here. For questions, contact LifeSmarts. Good luck to all our BPA advisers/coaches, students, and teams!

Varsity Wild Card Applications Due Soon!
This year, qualifying Varsity teams – including teams from partner student leadership organizations (4-H, BPA, FCCLA, FBLA, SkillsUSA, and others) – are invited to apply for a Wild Card bid to compete in the 2025 National LifeSmarts Championship in Chicago. Ten teams will be selected! Applicant teams must work together to complete the Wild Card TeamSmarts quiz and design an educational PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides, or Canva presentation on a suggested LifeSmarts topic. The deadline is February 14, 2025, at midnight EST. Note: Teams who may be out of school for inclement weather may contact Cheryl to discuss. Successful teams receive a $1,250.00 travel stipend upon completion of a community service project. Don’t miss out on your chance to compete on April 24-27, in Chicago!

Sarah Weinberg LifeSmarts Memorial Scholarship due March 15
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 as Sarah did. Scholarship applications are due March 15. One $500 scholarship will be awarded. Nominate a student here. NOTE: Students do not have to be attending the National LifeSmarts Championship to apply.

LifeSmarts LifeSparks Awards – Due March 31!
The LifeSmarts LifeSparks Award recognizes exemplary LifeSmarts Teams. 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 rights & responsibilities, personal finance, technology & workforce preparation, health & safety, and the environment, and going above and beyond in the community. All LifeSmarts teams that gain 35 credits throughout the 2024-2025 program year will be recognized with this year’s LifeSmarts LifeSparks Awards. The top teams will earn cash 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, 2025, and apply for the award by the April 11, 2025, deadline. Visit this link for additional information, the points scorecard, and the official application. We can’t wait for your team to share their LifeSparks!

Volunteer at the National LifeSmarts Championship in Chicago
We need volunteers April 25th and 26th for the National LifeSmarts Championship in Chicago. 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 Chicago area that would like to help? Please share this information with them. To sign up, visit here.

Promotional Video Contest Winners

Congratulations to our winners in the LifeSmarts promotional video contest!

First Place - North East High School - PA

Second Place - Robinson ACED - VA

Third Place - Gordon County 4-H - GA

HM 1 - Cobb County 4-H LifeSmarts Team

HM 2 - Harrison County 4-H - KY

HM 3 - Columbia County 4-H JV and V teams