North South Foundation

The North South Foundation (NSF) is a nonprofit organization whose main goal is to provide disadvantaged children living in India with college scholarships. The organization raises funds by holding educational competitions made up of participants of Indian background in the United States. Besides educational competitions, NSF conducts workshops and online coaching programs in several subjects. NSF was founded in 1989 and is driven by volunteers.

Regional educational contests are held in over 80 centers in various cities generally during March-April and the National Finals is held in a major university during summer.

Spelling Bee

The spelling bee has two divisions, junior and senior. Both divisions have the same rules. In the regional stages, there is a written round (25 questions for each contestant) and an oral round (6 questions for each contestant). The contestants in the oral round will have 30 seconds to spell their word. In the finals there is a written round (30 words per contestant), an oral round (3 words per contestant), and a final elimination phase based on scores from the first two rounds, which is similar to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winner is the last one standing.[1] There are 2 levels of competition in Spelling Bee: JSB (Junior Spelling Bee): Grades 1, 2 and 3 SSB (Senior Spelling Bee): Grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 A 1st rank winner at the Scripps National Spelling Bee or the National Finals of the North South Foundation senior spelling bee are not eligible for competing in this and future North South Foundation spelling contests. (The 1st rank winner of junior spelling bee can, however, participate in the senior spelling bee.) A contestant who participated in the NSF senior spelling bee is not eligible to participate in the junior spelling bee, irrespective of his/her age. Both spelling bees (JSB and SSB) are held in two phases: Phase I (written) and Phase II (oral) Parents are not allowed in Phase I. They may be allowed in Phase II at the discretion of the judges, if space permits. Phase I (Written): Phase I is a written test with 25 words, and the contestant has to write the spelling for each of the 25 words. Ten words will be selected from the published list, and the remaining fifteen words will be from outside the published list. The published list of 1,000 words will be provided to the contestants after completing registration. This list contains words from SpellIt booklet, from Merriam-Webster as well as words taken from the past Paideia booklets, published by Scripps National Spelling Bee. All the contestants will write the spelling for the same 25 words. Each contestant will be given a sheet with 25 blank rows (the rows are numbered) to write the spelling for each of the 25 words. During this phase, the pronouncer will pronounce each of the 25 words, and for each of the words, he will give the parts of speech (POS), root of the word, definition, and the use of the word in a sentence. The contestant will have to write the spelling of the each word in the appropriate blank row. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. So, contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. The decision of the judges is final. There will NOT be any partial credits. There will be NO negative points for any incorrect answer. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. All Phase I sheets should be returned at the end of the contest. All contestants will advance to Phase II (oral round). Phase II (Oral): Phase II contains 6 oral rounds. All the words in Phase II are used from the published list of 1,000 words. During this phase, the pronouncer pronounces a word to the contestant. The contestant shall pronounce the word, spell it, and pronounce it again. The contestant will be awarded zero points for failing to follow this order or failing to spell the word correctly. Pronunciation after spelling is optional, and points will not be deducted for failing to pronounce after spelling. A contestant may request to have the word pronounced again or ask for a definition, language origin, parts of speech, or a usage of the word in a sentence. This information will not be provided by the pronouncer (as done in Phase I) unless requested by the contestant. A contestant is allowed 30 seconds to start spelling a word. The judge may award zero points to any contestant who ignores a request to start spelling. This 30 second period excludes the time expended in step 11 above. Once a contestant starts spelling, he/she may stop and start over. In retracing, there can be no change of letters or their sequence from that of the first attempt. If any letter or the sequence is changed in the respelling, the contestant will be awarded zero points. In case more than one spelling is listed for a word in the Webster's dictionary (3rd International Unabridged Edition), the particular spelling enunciated by the contestant shall be accepted as correct, if the word either matches the pronunciation and definition provided by the pronouncer, or it is clearly identified as being a standard variant of the word the contestant has been asked to spell. No other source is allowed in this regard. If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer will indicate which word is to be spelled. During each of the six rounds, each contestant gets a new word from the published list. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. If a contestant gives an incorrect answer, the judges provide the correct answer, and the next contestant will be given a new word from the list. Winners and Ranks: Based on the combined scores of Phase I & II, the judges will determine the winners. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the judges will follow these rules: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants Tiebreaker Rules: The tiebreaker rules apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center and at the discretion of the judges/regional coordinator. After tabulation of scores (out of a total of 31) from Ph I (words 1-25) and Ph II (6 words), if there is a tie, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given, to break the ties: Phase I score (words 1-25) Phase I score among words 21-25 Phase I score among words 16-20 Phase I score among words 11-15 Phase I score among words 1-10 If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures to resolve them or award joint ranks. Invitation to National Finals: Invitation to National Finals is based on the relative scores [Phase I and Phase II] of all the contestants nationally and is not based on a direct correlation of ranks achieved by a contestant in a regional contest. Thus, the combined Phase I & II score of each contestant out of 31 relative to all such scores around the country will determine whether the contestant will be invited to the National Finals. The regional tiebreakers are only helpful in determining the winners for a particular center, but have no bearing on the Finals invitation.

Math Bee

There are 3 divisions based on education level. Contests are held in two phases. In Phase 1, all contestants get a question paper with 20 questions which must be completed in 35 minutes. In Phase 2 contestants are given 15 multiple choice questions which must be answered in 15 minutes. In the finals, for Phase 1, contestants are given 25 questions to be completed in 45 minutes. For Phase 2 contestants get 20 multiple choice questions. Division 1 contestants (junior level) get 20 minutes to answer the questions. For other divisions, Phase 2 is a lightning round with questions projected on a screen one by one and the contestants have only 45 seconds to answer each question.[2] There are 3 levels of competition in Math Bee: MB1 (Math Bee Level 1): Grades 1 and 2 MB2 (Math Bee Level 2): Grades 3, 4 and 5 MB3 (Math Bee Level 3): Grades 6, 7 and 8 A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation math bee level 3 (MB3) contest is not eligible for competing in this and future math bee contests conducted by the Foundation (National winners of MB1 and MB2 can participate ONLY in MB2 and MB3 bees, respectively). A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years. The syllabus for the Math Bee, level-wise, can be found on this website. It should be understood that any syllabus can only act as a guideline, but in the same given category of syllabus, the level of difficulty can vary dramatically from a beginner to an advanced level. Math bees (MB1 to MB3) are held in two phases, both Phases I and II are written. Contestants should bring their own pencils and sharpeners. Parents are NOT allowed in both Phase I and II. Phase I (Written): In Phase I, each contestant will be given a set of 20 questions to answer them. The maximum time allocated to answer the 20 questions is 35 minutes. Each contestant is given a question paper with 20 questions along with a blank answer sheet with 20 numbered rows to write the final answer. Each question has adequate space to arrive at the answer with a pencil. No other sheets will be given. Contestants are allowed to use the backside of the question paper to work out problems. Contestants are required to transfer the answers from the question paper to the answer sheet (which is attached to the question paper and contains 20 numbered rows to write the answer). All participants will move on to Phase II. Phase II (Written): In Phase II, each contestant will be given a set of 15 multiple choice questions to answer them. The maximum time allocated to answer the 15 questions is 15 minutes. Each contestant is given a question paper with 15 multiple choice questions along with a blank answer sheet with 15 numbered rows to write the final answer. Each question has adequate space to arrive at the answer with a pencil. No other sheets will be given. Contestants are allowed to use the backside of the question paper to work out problems. Contestants are required to transfer the answers from the question paper to the answer sheet (which is attached to the question paper and contains 15 numbered rows to write the answer). Calculators are NOT allowed at any level. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) shall be returned at the end of the contest to the proctor. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. So, contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. The decision of the judges is final. There will NOT be any partial credits for steps. There will be NO negative points for any incorrect answer. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. Winners and Ranks: Based on the combined scores from both phases, the judges will determine the winners. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the judges will follow these rules: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants Tiebreaker Rules: The tiebreaker rules apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center and at the discretion of the judges/regional coordinator. After tabulations of combined scores from Phase I (questions 1-20) and Phase II (questions 1-15), if there is a tie, to break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given: Phase I score among questions 1-20 Phase I score among questions 16-20 Phase I score among questions 1-15 Phase II score among questions 11-15 Phase II score among questions 1-10 If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures to resolve them or award joint ranks. Invitation to National Finals: Invitation to National Finals is based on the combined scores from both phases [Phase I: 20questions; Phase II: 15 questions] of all the contestants nationally and is not based on a direct correlation of ranks achieved by a contestant in a regional contest. Thus, the combined Phase I & II score of each contestant out of 35 relative to all such scores around the country will determine whether the contestant will be invited to the National Finals. The regional tiebreakers are only helpful in determining the winners for a particular center, but have no bearing on the Finals invitation.

Vocabulary Bee

There are 2 divisions of vocabulary bee. There are 2 phases to the vocabulary bee at the regional level. Phase 1 is a written test consisting of 25 words, while phase 2 is an oral round where each contestant gets 8 questions. Contestants have to select the correct meaning of the word out of the multiple choices provided. At the national level there are three phases. Phase 1 is a written contest with 30 questions to be completed in 20 minutes and Phase 2 is an oral round with 3 questions for each contestant. Contestant gets 30 seconds to answer a question. Phase 3 is an oral elimination round.[3] There are 2 levels of competition for Vocabulary Bee: JVB (Junior Vocabulary Bee): Grades 1, 2 and 3 IVB (Intermediate Vocabulary Bee): Grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 National winners of junior vocabulary bee can participate in the intermediate vocabulary bee. A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years. Vocabulary bees (JVB and IVB ) are held in two phases: Phase I (written) and Phase II (oral). Parents are not allowed in Phase I. They may be allowed in Phase II at the discretion of the judges, if the space permits. Phase I (written): Phase I is a written test with 25 words and the contestant has to find the most appropriate meaning of the word. Ten words will be selected from the published list (this is the list of 1,000 words provided to the contestants), and the remaining fifteen words will be from external sources. All the contestants will get the same 25 words. During this phase, contestants will be a given sheet with 25 words along with multiple choices for each word. For each word, the contestant has to circle the answer choice and the meaning from the list of multiple choices. To aid the contestant, the pronouncer will pronounce the word and read the multiple choices for each of the 25 words. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. So, contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. The decision of the judges is final. There will NOT be any partial credits. There will be NO negative points for any incorrect answer. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. All Phase I sheets should be returned at the end of the contest. All contestants will advance to Phase II (oral round.) Phase II (oral): Phase II contains 8 oral rounds. All the words in Phase II are used from the published list of 1,000 words. During this phase, the pronouncer pronounces a word (hands over an index card with the word along with its multiple choice of meanings or displays the same information on a screen) along with the corresponding multiple choices to the contestant. The contestant will pronounce the word along with his/her selected answer from the multiple choices. In addition to making a choice, the contestant must read the meaning of the word. The contestant will be awarded zero points for failing to provide the correct multiple choice and meaning. During each of the eight rounds, each contestant gets a new word from the list. If a contestant gives an incorrect answer, the judges provide the correct answer. The next contestant will be given a new word from the list. The contestant is allowed 30 seconds to provide his/her choice of the answer. The judges may award zero points to any contestant who ignores a request to start giving an answer. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. Winners and Ranks: Based on the combined scores of Phase I & II for a combined total of 33, the judges will determine the winners. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the judges will follow these rules: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants; Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants; Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants; DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants. Tiebreaker Rules: The tiebreaker rules apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center and at the discretion of the judges/regional coordinator. After tabulation of scores (out of a total of 33) from Ph I (words 1-25) and Ph II (8 words), if there is a tie, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given, to break the ties: Phase I score (words 1-25) Phase I score among words 21-25 Phase I score among words 16-20 Phase I score among words 11-15 Phase I score among words 1-10 If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures to resolve them or award joint ranks. Invitation to National Finals: Invitation to National Finals is based on the relative scores [Phase I and Phase II] of all the contestants nationally and is not based on a direct correlation of ranks achieved by a contestant in a regional contest. Thus, the combined Phase I & II score of each contestant relative to all such scores around the country will determine whether the contestant will be invited to the National Finals. The regional tiebreakers are only helpful in determining the winners for a particular center, but have no bearing on the Finals invitation. Holding of the National Finals for the Senior Spelling Bee depends on the total number of participants at the regional level.

Geography Bee

There are two divisions of the geography bee. There is a written phase with 25 questions for which contestants get 30 minutes and an oral phase where contestants get 5 questions. At Nationals, there are 30 questions written and 3 oral questions. The top 10 cumulative scores are added to the Final Round. The Geography Bee at North South Foundation is alleged by some contestants to be substantially harder than the National Geographic Bee, and many Indian-American winners of the National Geographic Bee have been a successful contestant of the North South Foundation Geography Bee. There are 2 levels of competition in Geography Bee: JGB (Junior Geography Bee): Grades 1, 2 and 3 SGB (Senior Geography Bee): Grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation Senior Geography contest is not eligible for competing in this and future Geography contests conducted by the Foundation (National winners of junior geography bee can participate in the senior geography bee.) A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years. Geography bees (JGB and SGB) are held in two phases: Phase I (written) and Phase II (oral). Parents are not allowed in Phase I. They may be allowed in Phase II at the discretion of the judges, if the space permits. Phase I (Written): Phase I is a written test with 25 questions. All contestants will get the same 25 questions. The contestants will have 30 minutes to complete Phase I. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. So, contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. The decision of the judges is final. There will NOT be any partial credits. There will be NO negative points for any incorrect answer. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. All Phase I sheets shall be returned at the end of the contest. All contestants will advance to Phase II (oral round). Phase II (Oral): Phase II contains 5 oral rounds. During this phase, the pronouncer announces the question. The contestant is not allowed to ask the judges any information on the question. The contestant is allowed 30 seconds to provide his/her choice of the answer. The judges may award zero points to any contestant who ignores a request to start giving an answer. During each of the five rounds, each contestant gets a new question from the list. If a contestant gives an incorrect answer, the judges provide the correct answer. The next contestant will be given a new question from the list. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. Winners and Ranks: Based on the combined scores from both phases, the judges will determine the winners. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the judges will follow these rules: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants Tiebreaker Rules: The tiebreaker rules apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center and at the discretion of the judges/regional coordinator. Based on the scores from Ph I (questions 1-25) and Ph II (5 questions) for a combined total of 30, if there is a tie, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given, to break the ties: Phase I score among questions 1-25 Phase I score among questions 21-25 Phase I score among questions 16-20 Phase I score among questions 11-15 Phase I score among questions 1-10 If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures to resolve them or award joint ranks. Invitation to National Finals: Invitation to National Finals is based on the relative scores [Phase I and Phase II] of all the contestants nationally and is not based on a direct correlation of ranks achieved by a contestant in a regional contest. Thus, the combined Phase I & II (for a total of 30) score of each contestant relative to all such scores around the country will determine whether the contestant will be invited to the National Finals. The regional tiebreakers are only helpful in determining the winners for a particular center, but have no bearing on the Finals invitation.

Essay Writing Bee

In Essay Bee, there is a level 1, a level 2, and a level 3. In finals and regionals contestants get 10 minutes after the topic is announced to plan it. They then get 60 minutes to write the essay. Judges score them and then average the scores and announce the winners. There are 3 levels of competition in Essay Bee: Essay Writing Level 1 (EW1): Grades 3, 4 and 5 Essay Writing Level 2 (EW2): Grades 6, 7 and 8 Essay Writing Level 3 (EW3): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation Essay Writing Level 3 (EW3) contest is not eligible for competing in this and future essay contests conducted by the Foundation (National winners of EW1 and EW2 can participate ONLY in EW2 and EW3 bees, respectively.) A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years. Essay bees (EW1, EW2 and EW3) are only held in one phase: Phase I (written). Parents are not allowed in Phase I. Phase I (Written): Phase I is a written test. The essay topic will only be announced 10 minutes before the contest begins. Thus the contestants will not know the essay topic ahead of time. The contestants will have 60 minutes to complete an essay on the “given topic.” The essay must be an original composition written by the contestant, onsite (i.e., in the Contest Room), and must be written in English. An essay submitted will not be returned under any circumstances. NSF shall reserve the right to publish the essay, name, school and photo of any participant in any manner it deems fit. Winners and Ranks: Each essay will be reviewed and scored by three independent judges. Based on the average scores of the three judges, winners will be determined. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least (.01) to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the following rules apply: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants; Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants; Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants; DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants. Tiebreaker Rules: The tie-breaker rules for ranks apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center. In case of a tie, the participant of lower (or lowest) grade will be the winner. If there is still a tie among the contestants who are in the same grade, multiple winners will be declared sharing the same rank. When announcing joint winners, the following rules are used: If two are tied for the 1st place, skip rank 2 and announce rank 3 for the third contestant. If two or more are tied for the 2nd place, skip rank 3. If three or more are tied for the 1st place, skip ranks 2 and 3. Invitation to National Finals: Invitation to National Finals is ONLY for EW3. All contestants at the regional level will be invited to the National Finals subject to an upper limit of 30. First come first serve rule will apply for registration at the National Finals.

Public Speaking Bee

There are two levels, Level 1, and Level 2. Contestants get 30 minutes to plan, and up to 3.5 minutes to say their speech before points are deducted. Just like Essay Writing, judges give scores, then average them, and announce winners.[4] There are 2 levels of competition for Public Speaking Bee: PS1 (Junior): Grades 6, 7 and 8 PS3 (Senior): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation PS3 (Senior) contest is not eligible for competing in this and future Public Speaking contests conducted by the Foundation. A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years. Contest Procedure: The contestants for the competition will be placed in a separate room. Badge numbers will determine the order of the speakers. Each contestant will be escorted to a separate room 30 minutes before the contestant’s turn, where he/she will hear the speech topic. Thus the contestants will not know the speech topic ahead of time. The contestant will be escorted to the contest room to give the speech. The contestants will have up to 3 minutes to give a short speech on the “given topic.” The contestant will be shown a green card when 2 minutes are reached, a yellow card when 2 minutes 30 seconds have been reached and a red card once 3 minutes have been reached. The contestant should strive to finish up his/her speech within the 3 minutes limit. If the contestant goes beyond 3 minutes 30 seconds, the chief judge will request the contestant to stop immediately. Failing to do so will disqualify the contestant. Judging Rules: Each contestant will be scored by a panel of three independent judges. Guidelines for judging criteria The results of the Public Speaking Contest will be announced right after the Contest. Winners and Ranks: Each speech will be scored by three independent judges. Based on the average scores of the three judges, winners will be determined. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least (.01) to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the judges will follow these rules: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants; Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants; Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants; DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants. Tiebreaker Rules: The tie-breaker rules apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center. In case of a tie, the participant of lower (or lowest) grade will be the winner. If there is still a tie among the contestants who are in the same grade, multiple winners will be declared sharing the same rank. When announcing joint winners, the following rules are used: If two are tied for the 1st place, skip rank 2 and announce rank 3 for the third contestant. If two or more are tied for the 2nd place, skip rank 3. If three or more are tied for the 1st place, skip ranks 2 and 3. Invitation to National Finals Invitation to National Finals is ONLY for PS3. All contestants at the regional level will be invited to the National Finals subject to an upper limit of 30. First come first serve rule will apply for registration at the National Finals.

Science Bee

The Science Bee contest was introduced in the year 2010 and is aimed at nurturing the interest and understanding of Science among children in grades 1 through 8. Science bee is split into 3 levels based on grade. The grade eligibility is determined as of February 1. There are 3 levels of competition in Science Bee: JSC (Junior Science Bee): Grades 1, 2 and 3 ISC (Intermediate Science Bee): Grades 4 and 5 SSC (Senior Science Bee): Grades 6, 7 and 8 The syllabus for the Science Bee, level-wise, can be found on this website. It should be understood that any syllabus can only act as a guideline, and in the same given category of syllabus, the level of difficulty can vary dramatically from a beginner to an advanced level. This syllabus includes a comprehensive list of sub-topics and science vocabulary words the students will be expected to know. While most of the fielded questions will touch upon the topics listed in the syllabus, question papers may also incorporate a few challenging questions that go beyond factual knowledge but, instead, require interpretation or application of the scientific principles covered by the syllabus. Science bees (JSC, ISC & SSC) are held as a written examination only. Contestants should bring their own pencils and sharpeners. Parents are NOT allowed in the examination room. Each contestant will be given a set of 30 questions to answer them. The maximum time allocated to answer the 30 questions is 40 minutes. Each contestant is given the question paper along with a blank answer sheet with 30 numbered rows to write the final answer. Each question has adequate space to arrive at the answer with a pencil. No other sheets will be given. Contestants are allowed to use the backside of the question paper to work out problems. Contestants are required to transfer the answers from the question paper to the answer sheet (which is attached to the question paper and contains 30 numbered rows to write the final answer). Calculators are NOT allowed at any level. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) shall be returned at the end of the contest. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. So, contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. The decision of the judges is final. There will NOT be any partial credits for steps. There will be NO negative points for any incorrect answer. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. Answers that are not transferred to the answer sheet will not get any credit. Winners and Ranks: Based on the total scores, the judges will determine the winners. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the judges will follow these rules: Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants Tiebreaker Rules: The tiebreaker rules apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center and at the discretion of the judges/regional coordinator. After tabulation of scores, if there is a tie, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given, to break the tie: Score among questions 1-30 Score among questions 26-30 Score among questions 21-25 Score among questions 11-20 Score among questions 1-10 If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures to resolve them or award joint ranks. Invitation to National Finals: Invitation to National Finals is based on the scores of all the contestants nationally and is not based on a direct correlation of ranks achieved by a contestant in a regional contest. Thus, the score of each contestant relative to all such scores around the country will determine whether the contestant will be invited to the National Finals. The regional tiebreakers are only helpful in determining the winners for a particular center, but have no bearing on the Finals invitation.

Brain Bee

It is a live Q&A competition about the neuroscience for middle and high school students. The best young brains in our country are quizzed about the brain and how it relates to intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movement, stress, aging, sleep, and brain disorders such as drug addiction, Alzheimer's and stroke. The brain bee is an attempt to motivate our youth to learn about the brain, capture their imagination, and inspire them to pursue careers in biomedical research on brain. Must be in grade 8, 9, 10 and 11 as of February 1, 2015. A past winner of the NSF Brain Bee is not eligible to participate again. The admission is based on first-come-first served and is limited. Brain bee is held in two phases and all the questions for both phases are taken from the 2012 edition of Brain Facts book. A team consisting of a proctor and three judges will conduct both the phases. Contestants are seated by the badge number. The proctor and judges face the contestants and audience. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final. No type of recording on paper or instrument (tape recorder, mp3 player, etc.) is allowed to be on during the competition. Parents and other members of the audience found to be using such devices and/ or writing down questions will be asked to leave immediately. Their child will be declared ineligible to contest in any Brain Bee. Phase I (Written): Phase I is written. Contestants will be provided with a question paper with 25 multiple choice questions and will have 30 minutes to answer them. For each question, the contestant has to circle the best answer from the multiple choice answers. There can be only one answer that is clearly marked. Once the written round is over, the results will be announced shortly. The top candidates (12 to 15) will enter Phase II. Phase II (Oral): In each round, the contestant will be required to come up to the mike and answer his/ her question. All contestants have exactly 15 seconds to answer a question once it has been asked. Time starts as soon as the proctor has finished asking the question. If there is any confusion, contestants should ask for clarification immediately and not wait until the end of the time period. When a contestant answers a question, he/she will be informed if the answer is correct. If not, the correct answer will be provided. Once a contestant accumulates 2 or 3 incorrect answers, he/ she will be eliminated from the competition. The exact number will be announced before the competition. All contestants will continue to answer questions until one winner is decided. The judging panel will decide on the validity of each answer. Challenges may be raised by the participant as soon as an answer is declared. The judges will also decide if they will entertain any challenge. Frivolous challenges may lead to negative scores and/or loss of participation. The contest is on the knowledge of Neuroscience. The contest is based around Brain Facts, which is the source for every question in the competition. But please be advised not to expect ad verbatim question/answers! Winners and Ranks: The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks.

Finals

The winners of the above contests, and people who make a certain cutoff score in the regionals will go to the finals, conducted on a University campus throughout America. The 2017 National Finals will be held at Lone Star College–University Park in Houston, Texas.

Past Locations

Scholarship Program

North South has an active scholarship program in India. All profits from the contests go to the scholarship program.[5] As of 2007, the foundation has awarded 2,000 scholarships to kids in India. They usually select poor students with high academic talent.

References

  1. ↑ Rules for National Spelling Bee Finals
  2. ↑ Rules for National Math Bee Finals
  3. ↑ Welcome to NSF - Regional Contests
  4. ↑ Welcome to NSF - 2007 Regional Contests
  5. ↑ Welcome to North South Foundation - Scholarship program in INDIA
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