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Contest Rules

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  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
  2. A 1st rank winner at the Scripps National Spelling Bee or the National Finals of the North South Foundation Senior spelling bee is not eligible for competing in this and future NorthSouth spelling contests. (The 1st rank winner of JSB at prior year Nationals can, however, participate in the senior spelling bee.) A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years.
  3. Both spelling bees (JSB and SSB) are held in three phases: Phase I is written, while Phases II and III are oral rounds. Pronouncer pronounces words in all phases. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers. No parents are allowed in Phase I.
  4. The pronouncer and judges face the audience. The contestants face the judges and pronouncers. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final. Pronouncer and judges use both NorthSouth material and Merriam-Webster 3rd International Unabridged Edition as sources in conducting the contests.

    5. Phase I (Written):

  5. Phase I is a written test with 30 words. First ten words are selected from the published list of 1000 words, ( contestants can download these practice words after registration and uploading a photo for bee book ) provided to the contestants, and the remaining twenty words are from external sources. All contestants write spelling for the same 30 words.
  6. The pronouncer provides the pronunciation of the word, its definition and any applicable alternate definitions, parts of speech, language(s) of origin, and alternate pronunciation(s), and uses the word in a sentence for each of the 30 words. Each contestant is given a sheet with 30 blank rows to write the spelling for each of the 30 words. Alternate definitions rule does not apply to the published words. On each word, the contestants get 30 seconds to write the spelling.
  7. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. All Phase I sheets should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
  8. All contestants advance to Phase II. In Phase II, contestants will be divided into groups of about 20, and each group is seated in a separate room by the badge number order. Badges contain the group number.

    9. Phase II (Oral):

  9. Phase II contains 3 oral rounds. All words in Phase II are from the published list of 1,000 words. In each round, each contestant gets a new word. The contestant faces the judges and speaks into a microphone.
  10. The pronouncer pronounces a word to the contestant. The contestant pronounces the word, spells it, and pronounces it again. The contestant is awarded zero points for failing to follow this order or failing to spell the word correctly. Pronunciation after spelling is optional, and points are not deducted for failing to pronounce after spelling. The pronouncer pronounces words as per the diacritical markings given in the sources. If the pronunciation of the contestant does not match, pronouncer and/or judges will request the contestant to pronounce again until a reasonable match is achieved. The pronouncer and judges make every attempt possible to detect a contestant’s misunderstanding of the word that is being asked to spell and hence it is important for the contestant to enunciate the word clearly before starting to spell.
  11. 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. No alternate definitions are given.
  12. 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.
  13. 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 previous attempt. If any letter or the sequence is changed in the respelling, the contestant will be awarded zero points.
  14. In case more than one spelling is listed for a word in the Webster’s dictionary, 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 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.
  15. If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer shall indicate that the word is a homonym and define it so as to distinguish the homonym. If the listed word is not properly identified, any correct spelling of any homonym is acceptable.
  16. It is the contestant’s responsibility to say each letter distinctly and with sufficient volume to be clearly understood by the judges. The contestant is awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer. If a contestant gives an incorrect answer, the pronouncer provide the correct answer and the next contestant will be given a new word from the list.

    17. Phase III (Oral):

  17. Based on the cumulative scores of Phase I (30 words) and II (3 rounds), for a total score of 33 , the judges determine a list of up to top 15 contestants who advance to Phase III. Because of potential ties, the judges use the tie-breaker rules outlined below to arrive at the top contestants to go into Phase III. While contestants are divided into groups in Phase II, those selected for Phase III are seated in one room. This is an elimination phase. The words in this phase are selected from external sources.
  18. In Phase III, all the rules for Phase II apply with the following changes:
    (a) An alternate definition or pronounciation for the word is provided by the pronouncer if asked by the contestant.
    (b) If the spelling provided by the contestant is incorrect, the contestant is eliminated.
    (c) Contestants who provide the correct spelling advance to the next round.
    (d) If no contestant spells correctly in a round, all contestants remain and advance to the next round.

    19. Winners and Ranks:

  19. The First, Second and Third place winners are decided based on multiple elimination rounds in Phase III. The first place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. If any of these top three positions remains tied after a maximum of 20 rounds, it will be broken as per the tie-breaker rules outlined below. Since the Foundation recognizes only the top 10 ranks, any tie is broken among the next seven places by using the tie-breaker rules outlined below.
  20. Tiebreaker Rules for Ranks 1-3, for Ranks 4-10, and selecting the top 15 into Phase III:
    To break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Combined Phase I and Phase II score
    • Phase I score alone
    • Phase I score among questions 26-30
    • 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

The following page contains tips and resources for preparation for the Spelling Bee conducted by NorthSouth. NorthSouth is committed to encourage children to improve their language skills and encouraging the same. The links below provide some sample words for the Spelling Bee tests — please note that these are examples of words and DO NOT COVER all the words that might come in the tests.

Sample Words

Sample Practice words for Junior Spelling Bee: click here

Sample Practice words for Senioir Spelling Bee: click here

    Books & References

  1. Spelling Bee Preparation
  2. NorthSouth Online Spelling Bee Game

    Since 2003, NorthSouth launched an Online Spelling Bee game. click here for more details on the game

  3. Merriam-Webster word of the day https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day
  4. Dictionary.com Word of the Day: (C) 2002 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/
  5. For Beginners: 71 Revised “Orton” Phonograms For Correct Spelling
    Home

    6. Tips & Strategies

  6. Spelling Bee Strategies (From Building Spelling Skills Grade 2)
    • LISTEN AND SAY THE WORD CORRECTLY – Don’t leave out or mispronounce sounds. Write the sounds in the correct order.
    • THINK ABOUT WHAT THE WORD LOOKS LIKE – Think about how the spelling pattern looks. Write it, look at it, and decide if it looks correct.
    • LOOK FOR SMALL WORDS IN SPELLING WORDS – e.g. Spin – pin, in Cupcake – cup, cake
    • USE RHYMING WORDS TO HELP SPELL A WORD – If you can spell book, you can spell look.
    • USE RULES FOR ADDING ENDINGS – Drop silent e before adding a suffix , Double the final consonant before adding a suffix.
    • THINK ABOUT WHAT THE WORD MEANS – Some words sound the same, but have different meanings and are spelled in different ways. Match the spelling with its meaning.
    • USE OUTSIDE HELP – Use charts, banners and lists. Ask someone for help. Use a personal spelling dictionary.
  7. Dr. Tadipatri’s TOP TEN TIPS for Spelling Bee:
    • Never get discouraged seeing long or tough words and never get discouraged if one or more words are misspelled in any spelling bee. On the flip side do not be overconfident if you get the first three or four words correct. Stay focused during the entire session.
    • The spelling bee, like any other academic exercise, is a long term and steady process. Do not expect overnight results.
    • Remember to ask as many questions (that are permitted) as possible so that you can get to the spelling. Despite all questions, if you cannot come up with definite answers, try to make a most educated guess, based on the information. Never be content with a wild guess.
    • The meaning of the word is very important. It helps eliminate the homonyms. It may also help in the formation of the word. If possible, try to break up the word, based on the meaning and any other information.
    • Language origin is another important factor. This tells about the word formation and its etymology
    • Part of speech and sentence usage give a confirmation of the idea about the word. Sometimes this may even correct the notion one may have about the word.
    • The final goal is to combine 4, 5 and 6 in the spelling preparation. Try to concentrate on all – meaning, language origin and part of speech.
    • Try to follow how others attack the words and implement any good techniques, you may observe in others. Learn form their mistakes. One can learn as much from others’ mistakes as from others’ good techniques.
    • For parents, try to be a part of the process and encourage your children. However, at centers where parents are allowed to watch the kids in session, please make sure that you do not show immediate reactions of “Yes!!” or “Oh hoL” as this can spoil the child’s concentration.
    • Have a long term goal and realize that irrespective of winning a trophy, the knowledge one gains in the process will be a life-long companion.
  8. Create your own database!
    • Another useful suggestion from Govindan family whose children Ramesh and Mallika have been participants in spelling and vocabulary bees: “We found it valuable to make a database of the list words provided for the regional and national competitions with their definitions, pronunciation, and language of origin, and then study from it. This way the children not only learned the words but also improved their vocabulary. We also did the same with the list words for the vocabulary bees. Children themselves created the databases (i.e., looked up the meanings and typed it into the Excel program), which provided them additional practice. The task became a lot easier when we installed the Merriam Webster Dictionary on the computer”.
  9. Tips during the contest
    • Make sure the pronouncer fully agrees with your pronunciation of the word. You can eliminate most misunderstandings right here. For example: If the pronouncer says ?except’ and you say ?accept’ he/she will be able to correct you right away. If you are still unable to get to the right pronunciation, you can ask for the word to be put in a sentence eliminating discrepancies.
Why is the Spelling Bee conducted?

With the popularity of the computer spell checker, youth are losing their spelling skills. Spell check programs cannot detect a mistake, if the misspelled word exists in the dictionary with a different meaning. Learning to spell correctly is necessary in all walks of life. Many children and their parents are not fully aware of the importance of developing English vocabulary as a stepping stone for success. The preliminary selection for National Merit Scholarships is solely based on a student’s PSAT score. In this test, 67% weight is given to English and 33% to Math. SAT scores assume great significance as one of the most important selection criteria in college admissions. In an effort to encourage children to excel in English early on, the Foundation has embarked on nationwide spelling and vocabulary contests.

The spelling bee contest by Foundation is one of the few in the US based on cumulative scoring where in a contestant is allowed to participate in several oral rounds even though he(she) misspell a word in one or more rounds. This is different from a typical spelling contest one is familiar with in which if you make a mistake in the very first round you are eliminated.

In addition, a written phase is also administered prior to the oral phase and those scores are added to oral scores.

This cumulative scoring would provide a fair assessment of contestant's spelling abilities.

See the section on Spelling Preparation.

No, a participant can only participate in one spelling bee and in one regional center only. Eligible contestants from the Regionals Contest will be invited into the same bee for the NorthSouth Foundation National Finals event

Yes, a child in KG is allowed to participate in the Junior Spelling Bee, on an equal basis without any special privileges. Parents should bring young children into the contest with the aim of getting them acquainted. Over the last several years, many 6- and 7-year olds participated and have done exceedingly well in the contests.

Beginner level words are generally used for Junior Spelling Bee, and Intermediate words are generally used for Senior Spelling Bee. See the section on contest rules for further details.

No, each participant is allowed to participate in all oral rounds in the Regional contests and a misspelling in any round will only give zero points and does not lead to elimination immediately. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why NorthSouth Foundation spelling bee differs from a spelling contest at your child's school in which a contestant is eliminated after the first misspelling. Also, during the NorthSouth Foundation spelling bee contests, there will be a written phase where in all the contestants write the spelling of the same set of words.

What appears to be so tough at first glance may not be really that tough. A simple analogy is a mountain. Don't be scared of its height! Take one step at a time. Eventually, when you reach its summit, you feel exhilarated! Next time you are ready to try even bigger mountains

Similarly, try the given list by sitting with your child and tackling the words. Even if the child finds the words difficult initially, after some practice, the child will find them easy (relative to when he/she started for the first time).

"Practice makes perfect.”

There are many tricks to mastering the spelling. Teach your child how to look at the root of a word, for instance. There are Spelling Bee workshops in certain centers for more help and training in this area. Also, refer to the section on contest preparation.

Online registration via NorthSouth Foundation homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the NorthSouth Foundation Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

  1. There are 2 levels of competition for Vocabulary Bee:

    • Junior Vocabulary Bee (JVB): Grades 1, 2 and 3
    • Intermediate Vocabulary Bee (IVB): Grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8
  2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation Intermediate Vocabulary contest is not eligible for competing in this and future vocabulary contests conducted by the Foundation (National winners of junior vocabulary bee can participate in the intermediate bee.) A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years.
  3. Vocabulary bees (JVB and IVB) are held in three phases. Phase I is written, while Phases II and III are oral rounds. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers. No parents are allowed in Phase I.
  4. The vocabulary contest is conducted in multiple-choice format. In all vocabulary contests, pronouncer pronounces words and provides multiple-choices in all phases. The pronouncer and judges face the audience. The contestants face the judges and pronouncers. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final. Pronouncer and judges use both NorthSouth material and Merriam-Webster 3rd International Unabridged Edition as sources in conducting the contests.

    5. Phase I (Written):

  5. Phase I is a written test with 30 words. First ten words are selected from the published list of 1000 words ( contestants can download these practice words after registration and uploading a photo for bee book ) provided to the contestants, and the remaining twenty words are from external sources. All contestants will get the same 30 words.
  6. All contestants get the same 30 questions in a booklet. The contestants need to complete this phase in 30 minutes. Contestants are required to circle correct letter choice and meaning on the student answer sheet. All answers must be marked on the answer sheet for credit. Only for JVB, to aid the contestant, the pronouncer pronounces each word and reads the multiple choices for each of the 30 words. For IVB, contestants work on their own in the overall allotted time.
  7. Unclear and illegible circling might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to circle clearly and legibly. All Phase I sheets should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
  8. All contestants advance to Phase II. In Phase II, contestants are divided into groups of about 20, and each group is seated in a separate room by the badge number order. Badges contain the group number.

    9. Phase II (Oral):

  9. Phase II contains 3 oral rounds. All words in Phase II are used from the published list. In each round, each contestant gets a new word. The contestant faces the judges and speaks into a microphone.
  10. The pronouncer will pronounce a word along with the corresponding multiple choices. The contestant will pronounce the word along with the answer in both the letter form (ex: B) and the text form (meaning for the word.) Both the letter and text should match. If there is no match, the contestant is awarded zero points.
  11. 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.
  12. The contestant is 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. The next contestant is given a new word from the list.

    13. Phase III (Oral):

  13. Based on the cumulative scores of Phase I (30 questions ) and II (3 questions), for a total score of 33 , the judges determine a list of up to top 15 contestants who advance to Phase III. Because of potential ties, the judges use the tie-breaker rules outlined below to arrive at the top contestants to go into Phase III. While contestants are divided into groups in Phase II, those selected for Phase III are seated in one room. This is an elimination phase. The words in this phase are selected from external sources.
  14. In Phase III, all the rules for Phase II apply with the following changes:
    1. (a) If the answer provided by the contestant is incorrect, the contestant is eliminated.
    2. (b) Contestants who provide the correct answer advance to the next round.
    3. (c) If no contestant answers correctly in a round, all contestants remain and advance to the next round.

    15. Winners and Rank:

  15. The First, Second and Third place winners are decided based on multiple elimination rounds in Phase III. The first place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. If any of these top three positions remains tied after a maximum of 20 rounds, it is broken as per the tie-breaker rules outlined below. Since the Foundation recognizes only the top 10 ranks, any tie is broken among the next seven places by using the tie-breaker rules outlined below.

    16. Tiebreaker Rules for Ranks 1-3, for Ranks 4-10, and selecting the top 15 into Phase III:

  16. To break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    1. (a) Combined Phase I and Phase II score
    2. (b) Phase I score alone
    3. (c) Phase I score among questions 26-30
    4. (d) Phase I score among questions 21-25
    5. (e) Phase I score among questions 16-20
    6. (f) Phase I score among questions 11-15
    7. (g) Phase I score among questions 1-10
    8. (h) If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures including date of birth to resolve them.

The following page contains tips and resources for preparation for the Vocabulary Bee conducted by NorthSouth.NorthSouth is committed to encourage children to improve their language skills and encouraging the same.The links below provide some sample words for the Vocabulary Bee tests — please note that these are examples of words and DO NOT COVER all the words that might come in the tests.

Sample Words

Sample Practice words for Junior Vocabulary Bee: click here

Sample Practice words for Intermediate Vocabulary Bee: click here

    Books & References

  1. Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis – Published by Pocket Books.
  2. It pays to enrich word power’ column from Readers Digest Monthly(Registration is required to access online Word Power).
  3. Barron’s SATI Book.
  4. Vocabulary Cards (set I & set II) from Visual Education. (800-243-7070)
  5. Online Vocabulary Game

    Since 2003, NorthSouth has launched Online Vocabulary Game. click here for more details on the game. For instructions on playing the Vocabulary Game, please click here

  6. Vocabulary Sites on Web that are not connected to NorthSouth –

    The following has a game like approach – http://www.vocabulary.com/

    The following gives lists by category and is free – http://www.learn-english-today.com/vocabulary/a_vocabulary-contents.htm

Why is the vocabulary contest conducted?

Vocabulary implies knowing the “meaning of words” in the English language. It is the next step and perhaps even a concurrent step, while learning to spell, which is required to gain mastery over the language. This Contest is designed to give an early start to a student’s preparation for the PSAT and SAT exams. SAT score is one of the important criteria used by the colleges in the US in awarding undergraduate admissions and scholarships. Youngsters can be good at English vocabulary by making a concerted effort over 4 to 5 years. Preparation for the North South Foundation Vocabulary Bee can also help to prepare for the nation-wide Reader’s Digest Vocabulary Challenge

Yes. A child can compete in both Spelling and Vocabulary Bees, if she/he satisfies grade requirements as per North South Foundation rules. There is no lower grade limit for Junior Vocabulary or Spelling bee.

See the section on Vocabulary Preparation.

No, a participant can only participate in one spelling bee and in one regional center only. Eligible contestants from the Regionals Contest will be invited into the same bee for the North South Foundation National Finals event

Yes, a child in KG is allowed to participate in the Junior Vocabulary Bee, on an equal basis without any special privileges. Parents should bring young children into the contest with the primary aim of getting them familiar with the Bee. Over the last several years many young children have participated and done exceedingly well in various contests.

Beginner level words are generally used for Junior Vocabulary Bee. Intermediate and Advanced words are generally used for Intermediate Vocabulary Bees. The words used for the Intermediate Vocabulary contests are consistent with the SAT level. This is intentionally done to align with the North South Foundation goal of helping children do well in the SAT in high school.

Online registration via Regionals Homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the Regional Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

  1. There are 3 levels of competition in Math Bee:
    • MB1 (Math Bee Level 1): Grades 1 , 2 and 3
    • MB2 (Math Bee Level 2): Grades 4 and 5
    • MB3 (Math Bee Level 3): Grades 6, 7 and 8
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

    5. Phase I (Written):

  5. In Phase I, each contestant will be given a set of 25 questions to answer them. The maximum time allocated to answer the 25 questions is 40 minutes.
  6. Each contestant is given a question paper with 25 questions along with a blank answer sheet with 25 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 25 numbered rows to write the answer).
  7. All participants will move on to Phase II.

    8. Phase II (Written):

  8. In Phase II, each contestant will be given a set of 20 multiple choice questions to answer them. The maximum time allocated to answer the 20 questions is 15 minutes.
  9. Each contestant is to answer 20 multiple choice questions (For MB1, test booklets with all 20 questions will be provided but for MB2 or MB3, each question one after another will be projected on screen and contestants have only 45 seconds to answer in their answer sheets) on a blank answer sheet with 20 numbered rows to write the final answer. Adequate space or blank pages available in the booklets to arrive at the answer with a pencil. No other separate 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 to the answer sheet (which is attached to the question paper for MB1, or only the answer booklets for MB2 and Mb3 and contains 20 numbered rows to write the answer).
  10. Calculators are NOT allowed at any level.
  11. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) shall be returned at the end of the contest.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.

    14. Winners and Ranks:

  14. Winners are determined based on the combined scores of Phase I (25 questions) and II (20 questions). The first place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. Since the Foundation recognizes only the top 10 ranks, any tie is broken as per the tie-breaker rules outlined below.

    15. Tiebreaker Rules:

  15. After tabulations of combined scores from Phase I (questions 1-25) and Phase II (questions 1-20), if there is a tie, to break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:

    • Combined Phase I and Phase II score
    • Phase I score alone
    • 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
    • Phase II score among questions 16-20
    • Phase II score among questions 11-15
    • Phase II score among questions 1-10
  16. If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures to resolve them or award joint ranks.

This page contains resources for preparation for the Math Bee conducted by NorthSouth. The resources are categorized by level.

Math Bee Level 1 (Grades 1, 2): Online Resources
  1. Critical Thinking Skills – Teaching your kid how to think rather than what to think www.criticalthinking.com.
  2. Khan Academy – Free Video Lectures https://www.khanacademy.org/
  3. Math Kangaroo for grades 2 and above www.mathkangaroo.org
  4. CML (Continental Math League) www.continentalmathematicsleague.com
Math Bee Level 1 (Grades 1, 2): Books (Workbooks – each book has hundreds of word problems)

    Singapore Math ( www.singaporemath.com):

  1. Primary Math Work Books US Edition: 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B
  2. Primary Math Intensive Practice U.S. Edition: 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B
  3. Challenging Word Problems for Primary Mathematics: 1, 2
Math Bee Level 2 (Grades 3, 4, 5): Online Resources
  1. Khan Academy – Free Video Lectures https://www.khanacademy.org/
  2. Math League for grades 4 and above www.themathleague.com
  3. Math Olympiad: www.moems.org
  4. CML (Continental Math League) www.continentalmathematicsleague.com
Math Bee Level 2 (Grades 3, 4, 5): Books (Workbooks – each book has hundreds of word problems)
  1. Singapore Math (www.singaporemath.com) a. Primary Math Work Books US Edition: 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B b. Primary Math Intensive Practice U.S. Edition: 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B c. Challenging Word Problems for Primary Mathematics: 3, 4, 5
Math Bee Level 3 (Grades 6, 7, 8): Online Resources
  1. Book for advanced middle school students: the Art of Problem Solving, Volume 1: the Basics, By Sandor Lehoczky and Richard Rusczyk
  2. Practice problems from middle school students: (Past AMC8 tests and solutions); CD — AJHSME & AMC 8 (1985-2007); http://amc.maa.org/d-publication/publication.shtml
  3. Book for high school students: the Art of Problem Solving, Volume 2: and Beyond, By Richard Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky
  4. Khan Academy – Free Video Lectures https://www.khanacademy.org/
  5. MATHCOUNTS – Free: www.mathcounts.org
  6. Math League www.themathleague.com
  7. Algebra1 Concepts (Concept-wise Book Series by Vaishali Patil) (Volume 1) – https://www.amazon.com/dp/069283771X
  8. Math Olympiad: www.moems.org
  9. Alcumus Online Learning system adjusting to student performance (Algebra and Probability) www.artofproblemsolving.com/Alcumus/Introduction.php
  10. For the Win game on AOPS. Helps to improve speed. Documentation is at the link below: www.artofproblemsolving.com/Edutainment/FTW/documentation.php
  11. Jason Batterson’s website agmathematics.com has a collection of mock papers/ speed drills etc., for MATHCOUNTS preparation http://agmath.com/57427/index.html
  12. Saab: Preparation Drills for MATHCOUNTS MATHCOUNTS.saab.org/mc.cgi
  13. Practice problems from middle school students: https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/AMC_8_Problems_and_Solutions
  14. CML (Continental Math League): www.continentalmathematicsleague.com
  15. SAT and SAT II – www.collegeboard.com
  16. ACT www.act.org
What is the North South Foundation Math Bee Contests?

The NorthSouth Math Bee is a Mathematics competition for children all across North America. It is aimed at nurturing mathematical skills among children attending grades 1 through 8, in a challenging environment. Math Bee has Regional and National-level components just as all the other North South Foundation Bees.

The underpinnings of everyday life increasingly involve math and science/technology. North South Foundation believes that math abilities are a vital foundational and literacy requirement for the child of today.

We also believe that proficiency in Mathematics can be personally satisfying and empowering to the individual. Mathematics is one of the greatest intellectual achievements of humankind, and the children should develop an appreciation and understanding of that achievement.

India has produced several great mathematicians like Ramanujan, Aryabhatta, Bhaskara, and Brahmagupta. Just as the level of mathematics needed for enlightened citizenship has increased dramatically, so too has the level of mathematical thinking and problem-solving needed in the modern workplace.

Although all careers require a foundation of mathematical knowledge, some are more math-intensive than others. We hope that the Math Bee program will especially help our students pursue an educational path that will prepare them for lifelong work as mathematicians, statisticians, engineers, computer programmers and scientists.

Further, North South Foundation also believes that Math Bee will better prepare children to take standardized tests like PLUS, PSAT, SAT I, SAT II and ACT.

There are several goals and some of these are :

  • To make Mathematics an easier subject to learn and excel from early childhood
  • To better prepare for excelling in college entrance exams like the SAT and ACT
  • To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics
  • To introduce important Mathematical concepts
  • To teach major strategies for problem solving
  • To develop Mathematical flexibility in solving problems
  • To strengthen Mathematical intuition
  • To foster Mathematical creativity and ingenuity
  • To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges
  • To meet other students of Indian origin and develop friendship

See the section on Math Contest Rules .

See the section on Math Contest Rules .

No, a participant can only participate in one Math bee and in one regional center only. Eligible contestants from the Regional Contest will be invited into the same bee for the North South Foundation National Finals event.

Yes, each grade group will have a different test. The questions will be based on the syllabus for the particular grade grouping.

See the section on Math Bee Preparation .

See the section on Math Bee Syllabus.

Yes, a child in KG is allowed to participate in the Math Bee Level 1, on an equal basis without any special privileges. Parents should bring young children into the contest with the primary aim of getting them familiar with the Bee. Over, the last several years many young children have participated and done exceedingly well in various contests.

Calculators are not allowed at any level.

This is only applicable at the National level. In the lightning round, we will avoid questions involving complex calculations. Typically the students are expected to answer within 60 seconds. A blank paper and pencil will be provided to children.

No. The questions in the contest will be within the syllabus for the particular level.

It depends on each chapter. Some may hold it over on one day and some over two days. Please refer to the Contest Calendar or contact your Chapter Coordinator.

Online registration via North South Foundation homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the North South Foundation Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

  1. There are 3 levels of competition for Science Bee:
    • Junior Science (JSC): Grades 1, 2 and 3
    • Intermediate Science (ISC): Grades 4 and 5
    • Senior Science (SSC): Grades 6, 7, and 8
  2. A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years.
  3. The contest is conducted in two phases for JSC and ISC, and three phases for SSC. Phases I and II are written. All contestants participate in both Phase I and Phase II. SSC will feature a Phase III, which is oral (see below).
  4. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
  5. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
  6. Calculators are NOT allowed at any level during Phase I and II.
  7. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
  8. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
  9. There will NOT be any partial credits for steps. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answer. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.

    10. Phase I (Written):

  10. Each contestant is given a booklet containing 30 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
  11. Each contestant is given a booklet with 30 questions along with a student answer sheet (last page) with 30 numbered rows to write the final answer. While some questions may be in a multiple choice format, others may require the contestant to derive the answer with no answer choices being provided.
  12. Each question has adequate space to work out the answer. No other sheets are given. Contestants are allowed to use the backside of the question paper if more space is needed to work out the problems.
  13. Contestants are required to transfer the answers from the question paper to the corresponding numbered row in the student answer sheet.

    14. Phase II (Written):

  14. All contestants will move on to Phase II. Each contestant will answer a set of the same 20 questions. These questions will be projected on a screen and read by a pronuncer in sequence. The contestant has 45 seconds to answer each question. Contestants are required to transfer the answer to the corresponding numbered row in the student answer sheet.

    15. Winners and Ranks:

  15. Winners are determined based on the combined scores of Phase I (30 questions) and II (20 questions). The first place winner shall be ahead by at least one point to be declared as the champion. If there is any tie for the top ten positions, it is broken as per the tie-breaker rules outlined below. Since the Foundation recognizes only the top 10 ranks, any tie is broken among the top ten places.

    16. Tiebreaker Rules for Ranks 1-3 and for Ranks 4-10:

  16. To break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Combined Phase I and II score
    • Phase I score alone
    • Phase I score among questions 26-30
    • Phase I score among questions 21-25
    • Phase I score among questions 11-20
    • Phase I score among questions 1-10
    • If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the Foundation may use additional measures including date of birth to resolve the tie.

The following books contain good preparatory material for the NorthSouth Science Bees. These could serve as reference for the Science Bee aspirants to explore and understand various scientific concepts. Students are encouraged to refer other materials as well in preparing for the Science Bee.

Books for Junior Science Bee (JSC) – available through Amazon
  • Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
    • Title: Science A Closer Look, Grade 1, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780022880057
      MHID: 0022880054
    • Title: Science A Closer Look, Grade 2, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780022880064
      MHID: 0022880062
    • Title: Science A Closer Look, Grade 3, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780022880071
      MHID: 0022880070
Books for Intermediate Science Bee (ISC) – available through Amazon
  • Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
    • Title: Science: A Closer Look, Grade 4, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780022880088
      MHID: 0022880089
    • Title: Science: A Closer Look, Grade 5, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780022880095
      MHID: 0022880097
Books for Senior Science Bee (SSC) – available through Amazon
  • Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
    • Title: Science: A Closer Look, Grade 6, Student Edition
      ISBN : 9780022880118
      MHID: 0022880119
  • Published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
    • Title: Glencoe Science: Level Red, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780078778063
      MHID: 0078778069
    • Title: Glencoe Science: Level Green, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780078778087
      MHID: 0078778085
    • Title: Glencoe Science: Level Blue, Student Edition
      ISBN: 9780078778100
      MHID: 0078778107
Helpful websites for Junior Science Bee (JSC)
Helpful websites for Intermediate Science Bee (ISC)
Helpful websites for Senior Science Bee (SSC)

Apart from the above books and resources, listed below are several additional resources students can consult to learn about Science and to prepare for the Science Bee:

  1. A new Science competition, called Senior Science Oral Round (SSOR) is being reintroduced for 2024 National Finals. This oral contest will closely follow the syllabus and question difficulty-level of the US National Science Bowl (NSB) Middle School competition, which can be found at these URLs:
  2. Unlike the National Science Bowl, which is a team-based event, the Senior Science Oral Round at the National Finals will be based solely on individual effort.
  3. The winners of top 10 ranks from the Senior Science Bee written contests (based on Phase I+II combined scores) will be invited to participate in the Senior Science Oral Round, with a live audience. The list of all winners of Senior Science Bee will be posted, in alphabetical order, after the judging of Senior Science Bee is completed.
    Because of potential ties, more than 10 contestants may be awarded Senior Science Bee written contest awards. In these instances, judges will use tie-breaker rules outlined below to arrive at the top 10 contestants for the Senior Science Oral round.
  4. Those selected for Senior Science Oral Round will all be seated in one room. Each of these 10 contestants will be provided a buzzer. The pronouncer faces the audience. The contestants face the judges and pronouncers.
  5. A set of 50 questions will be read to contestants, one after another. Questions will be very similar to NSB questions, except that there will be no questions on Mathematics. Questions will be of the “short answer” type.
  6. At the beginning of the oral contest, every contestant begins with a score of zero. After each question is read, the contestant who hits the buzzer first will be recognized by the moderator. Then, the contestant can say aloud his/her answer.
    • Correct answer: 1 point is added to the score of the recognized contestant.
    • Incorrect answer: 1 point is subtracted from the score of the recognized contestant.
    • The following cases result in 1 point being subtracted from the score of any contestant who
      1. Provides an answer before being recognized by the moderator
      2. Has not provided the answer in 5 seconds
      3. Stalls instead of promptly saying the answer
    • Scores of other contestants are not affected.
  7. If no contestant buzzes within 5 seconds of the question being completed by the pronouncer, the moderator will move on to the next question.
  8. Only the first verbalized answer of the recognized contestant will be counted as a response. If the recognized contestant stalls instead of promptly saying the answer, it will be counted as “incorrect”, and 1 point will be subtracted.
  9. A contestant may buzz-in before the question is read in its entirety. In that case, the moderator will stop reading the question, and recognize the contestant. Buzzing-in before the question is completed does not affect the scoring in any way. However, if a contestant says the answer without buzzing-in, or says the answer before being recognized by the moderator, 1 point will be subtracted. So, buzzing-in and being recognized by the moderator is mandatory.
  10. Any contestant who attains a cumulative score of “-3” at any stage of the oral round will be eliminated.
  11. Once all 50 questions have been exhausted, the contestants remaining in the game will be ranked based on their cumulative scores. If the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranking contestants are clearly evident, the Oral contest concludes at this point. On the other hand, if score-ties preclude the definitive identification of the top 3 contestants, the contestants who are tied will continue playing 10 additional questions in order to break any ties.
  12. Since some questions may involve calculations, paper and pencils will be provided. No calculators are allowed. For quantitative answers, no units need to be provided, unless explicitly asked for.
  13. Since time is limited, no challenges will be entertained, from the participants or parents. The moderator/judge will have the final say. All feedback and questions should be addressed to the organizers AFTER the event.
  14. Throughout the contest, all audience members and participants should maintain absolute silence, except for the contestant who has buzzed-in to answer. Those who disobey this rule will be asked to leave the contest room.

Winners and Ranks:

The top 3 contestants who rank as 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be awarded at the Awards ceremony. Participation in Senior Science Oral Round does not qualify the contestant for any scholarships.

Tiebreaker Rules to identify the top 10 contestants for the Senior Science Oral Round:

If there are more than 10 winners for the top 10 ranks of the Senior Science Bee, then only the winners tied for the last rank will go through a set of oral tie-breaker questions. This oral tie-breaker session will be conducted at the beginning of the time period that is identified as Senior Science Oral Round in the schedule. The oral tie-breaker questions will be posed one at a time.

  1. The first person to buzz-in (within 5 seconds) and provide a correct answer gets to participate in the Senior Science Oral Round.
  2. Providing an incorrect answer at this stage will eliminate the contestant from further consideration.
  3. Tie-breaker questions will continue to be read until all ten participant spots for the Senior Science Oral Round are filled.

To provide further clarification on tiebreaker rules, some scenarios are provided below:
Scenario #1

    Contestant# Placement
    9 9
    10 10
    11 10
    12 10
    13 10
The last 4 contestants will go through to the oral tie-breaker at the beginning of Senior Science Oral Round. Three contestants will be eliminated and only 1 of the last 4 contestants will go to the Senior Science Oral Round. As soon as three are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.
Scenario #2
    Contestant# Placement
    8 8
    9 9
    10 9
    11 9
    12 9
The last 4 contestants will go through to the oral tie-breaker at the beginning of Senior Science Oral Round. Two contestants will be eliminated and only 2 of the last 4 contestants will go to the Senior Science Round. As soon as two are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.
Scenario #3
    Contestant# Placement
    7 7
    8 8
    9 8
    10 8
    11 8
    12 8
The last 5 contestants will go through to the oral tie-breaker at the beginning of Senior Science Oral Round.
Two contestants will be eliminated and only 3 of the last 5 contestants will go to the Senior Science Oral Round. As soon as two are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

Scenario #4
    Contestant# Placement
    6 6
    7 7
    8 7
    9 7
    10 7
    11 7
The last 5 contestants will go through to the oral tie-breaker at the beginning of Senior Science Oral Round.
One contestant gets eliminated and only 4 of the last 5 contestants will go to the Senior Science Oral Round. As soon as one is eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

    In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for the Geography Bee Competition.

  1. 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
    2. Rules
    • A 1st rank winner at the North South Foundation National Finals Junior Geography Bee can only participate in the Senior Geography Bee the following contest year onwards.
    • A National Geographic Bee winner is not eligible to participate in North South Foundation Geography Bee contests.
    • Geography Bees (JGB and SGB) are held in three phases: Phase I (written), Phase II (oral), and Phase III (Oral).
    • All the contestants will be allowed to participate in Phase I and Phase II. Whereas Phase III will be limited to the top 10 finishers based on scores from Phase I and Phase II. Parents and students will have the opportunity to watch phase 3 depending on the capacity of the rooms.

    The following rules are applicable for Phase I and Phase II for both JGB and SGB:

    Phase I (Written round):

  2. Phase I is a written test with 30 questions. All contestants will get the same 30 questions. The contestants will have 30 minutes to complete Phase I.
  3. If there are multiple answer choices, only your answer choice entries, from the provided multiple choices, are recorded, and graded.
  4. Please note that there may not be multiple answer choices for all questions. It is also possible that there may not be any multiple-choice answers.
  5. Students can change their selected answer for any question within the allocated time during the contest, provided the older answer is clearly crossed out.
  6. Contestants must not use books, handwritten or electronic notes, websites, phones, smart watches, or any other form of external help – in person, or by messaging/emails/etc.
  7. No recording of any sort is allowed. If a contestant is found recording with a camera or using voice recording devices, they will be disqualified.

    8. Phase II (Oral round):

  8. All contestants advance to Phase II. In Phase II, contestants will be divided into groups of no more than 25.
  9. Phase II contest contains 3 oral rounds only.
  10. During this phase, the pronouncer announces the question. The contestant is not allowed to ask the judges for any information on the question. The contestant is allowed 15 seconds to provide his/her answer. The judges may award zero points to any contestant who ignores a request to start giving an answer.
  11. In each round, 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.
  12. The contestant will be awarded one point for the correct answer and zero for an incorrect answer.

    13. The following rules are applicable only for the JGB

    Phase III – JGB (Top 10):

  13. The top 10 advancing to Phase III is based on the cumulative scores from Phase I and II (30+3 = 33). Please see the tie-breaker rules outlined in a section below.
  14. The 7 tie-breaker rules noted below are applied to any potential ties to determine the top 10.
  15. Phase III consists of two sub-phases:
    • Double Elimination – to determine the top 3.
    • Championship Round – to determine the Champion.

    Double Elimination:

    • Scores are tallied at the end of each round.
    • In a common question round contestants are given 15 seconds to write their answers on the white board. Contestant will write their answer on White board while facing the judges, with white board held up. When time is called the contestant should put down the pen or marker and flip the board to show their answer to the judges.
    • In an individual question round each contestant gets a different question and has 15 seconds to answer.
    • Any contestant who has a cumulative of two wrong answers at the end of the current round will be eliminated.
    • This process continues till 3 contestants are left.
    • If all contestants are eliminated at the end of a round, the remaining contestants at this round will continue to the next round and the contest switches to single elimination mode till the top 3 are determined.
    • If only three contestants remain at the end of the round, they advance to the championship round.
    • If only one contestant remains at the end of the round, he/she will advance to the Championship round. The remaining contestants will continue with a single elimination phase to determine the two more spots for the Championship round.
    • The ranks of the eliminated contestants in any round are determined by the tie-breaker rules.
    • This phase ends when we have identified the three Championship finalists.

    Championship Round, Winners, and Ranks:

    • The top 3 contestants will compete in the Championship round.
    • Championship round is single elimination.
    • All questions in the Championship round will be only in a common question format.
    • In every round, the contestant has 15 seconds to write down their answer. Contestants will write their answers on the white board while facing the judges with white board held up.
    • When time is called, contestants must put down their writing pen or marker and flip the white board to show the answer to be seen by the judges.
    • If one contestant is eliminated before the other two, this contestant is declared the third-place winner. The other two will continue till the Champion is declared.
    • If two contestants are eliminated in a round, the remaining contestant will be declared the Champion. The two eliminated contestants will then continue the rounds to determine the 2nd and 3rd ranks.
    • If all three contestants answer incorrectly, they will all move on to the next round.
    • If any of these top three positions remains tied after a maximum of 10 rounds, it will be broken as per the tie-breaker rules outlined below.
    • Based on the situation, the coordinator and the judges may reduce or increase the number of rounds allowed for the championship rounds. The judge’s decision is final.

    Tiebreaker Rules:

  16. To break ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    1. Combined Phase I and Phase II score
    2. Phase I score alone.
    3. Phase I score among questions 26-30
    4. Phase I score among questions 21-25
    5. Phase I score among questions 16-20
    6. Phase I score among questions 11-15
    7. Phase I score among questions 1-10
    8. If there are more than 10 candidates at this point, then only the students who tied for the last position will go through a set of oral tie-breaker questions. This tie-breaker session will be conducted at the beginning of the time period that is identified as Phase III in the schedule.
  17. To provide further clarification on item 8, some scenarios are discussed below:
    Scenario #1
    Contestant# Placement
    9 9
    10 10
    11 10
    12 10
    13 10

    Last 4 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 1 out of the last four will go to Phase III. Three will be eliminated.

    Scenario #2
    Contestant# Placement
    8 8
    9 9
    10 9
    11 9
    12 9

    Last 4 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 2 out of the last four will go to Phase III. Two get eliminated. As soon as two are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

    Scenario #3
    Contestant# Placement
    7 7
    8 8
    9 8
    10 8
    11 8
    12 8

    Last 5 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 3 out of the last 5 will go to Phase III. Two get eliminated. As soon as two are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

    Scenario #4
    Contestant# Placement
    6 6
    7 7
    8 7
    9 7
    10 7
    11 7

    Last 5 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 4 out of the last 5 will go to Phase III. Only one gets eliminated. As soon as one is eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

    18. The following rules are applicable only for the SGB

    Phase III – SGB (Top 10):

  18. The top 10 advancing to Phase III is based on the cumulative scores from Phase I and II (30+3 = 33). Please see the tie-breaker rules outlined in a section below.
  19. The 7 tie-breaker rules noted below are applied to any potential ties to determine the top 10.
  20. Phase III consists of two sub-phases:
    • Semifinal Round – to determine the top 3.
    • Championship Round – to determine the Champion.

    21. Semifinal Round

  21. Phase 3 Semifinal Round will include exactly eight rounds worth a total of 40 points.
  22. Each round is a common question worth a maximum of 5 points with progressively easier clues. Participants will have a chance to “lock-in” their answer after each clue, after which time answers cannot be changed. Answers “locked-in” after fewer clues are worth more points if correct.
    Here is a more detailed explanation:
  23. Scores are tallied at the end of each round.
  24. The laptop judge will display the scores after each round on the screen.
  25. After 8 rounds, the top 3 participants advance to a clean-slate championship.
  26. If, after 8 rounds, there are ties, the contest to determine the top three will continue. in a single-elimination “sudden-death” style. Participants will be given a common question to answer till the tie is broken. (Note: Those who have already qualified unquestionably after 8 rounds will not participate in this “sudden death” set. Continuation of tiebreaker rounds applies only amongst the tied participants).

    27. Championship Round, Winners, and Ranks:

  27. The top 3 contestants will compete in the Championship round.
  28. Championship round is single elimination.
  29. All questions in the Championship round will be only in a common question format.
  30. In every round, the contestant has 15 seconds to write down their answer. Contestants will write their answers on the white board while facing the judges with white board held up.
  31. When time is called, contestants must put down their writing pen or marker and flip the white board to show the answer to be seen by the judges.
  32. If one contestant is eliminated before the other two, this contestant is declared the third-place winner. The other two will continue till the Champion is declared.
  33. If two contestants are eliminated in a round, the remaining contestant will be declared the Champion. The two eliminated contestants will then continue the rounds to determine the 2nd and 3rd ranks.
  34. If all three contestants answer incorrectly, they will all move on to the next round.
  35. If any of these top three positions remains tied after a maximum of 10 rounds, it will be broken as per the tie-breaker rules outlined below.
  36. Based on the situation, the coordinator and the judges may reduce or increase the number of rounds allowed for the championship rounds. The judge’s decision is final.

    37. Tiebreaker Rules:

  37. To break ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    1. Combined Phase I and Phase II score
    2. Phase I score alone.
    3. Phase I score among questions 26-30
    4. Phase I score among questions 21-25
    5. Phase I score among questions 16-20
    6. Phase I score among questions 11-15
    7. Phase I score among questions 1-10
    8. If there are more than 10 candidates at this point, then only the students who tied for the last position will go through a set of oral tie-breaker questions. This tie-breaker session will be conducted at the beginning of the time period that is identified as Phase III in the schedule.
  38. To provide further clarification on item 8, some scenarios are discussed below:
    Scenario #1
    Contestant# Placement
    9 9
    10 10
    11 10
    12 10
    13 10

    Last 4 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 1 out of the last four will go to Phase III. Three will be eliminated.

    Scenario #2
    Contestant# Placement
    8 8
    9 9
    10 9
    11 9
    12 9

    Last 4 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 2 out of the last four will go to Phase III. Two get eliminated. As soon as two are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

    Scenario #3
    Contestant# Placement
    7 7
    8 8
    9 8
    10 8
    11 8
    12 8

    Last 5 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 3 out of the last 5 will go to Phase III. Two get eliminated. As soon as two are eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

    Scenario #4
    Contestant# Placement
    6 6
    7 7
    8 7
    9 7
    10 7
    11 7

    Last 5 contestants will go through an oral tiebreaker at the beginning of GB Phase III. 4 out of the last 5 will go to Phase III. Only one gets eliminated. As soon as one is eliminated, the oral tie-breaker round will close.

Sample Questions
Please click at the links below for Sample Questions.
Books & References
There are several books and online resources available to prepare for the NorthSouth Geography Bee. Following are some of the resources:
  1. National Geographic Society conducts National Geographic Bee every year across participating schools in US:
    National Geography Bee website.
    *Disclaimer: The NorthSouth Geography Bee is not related to the National Geographic Bee conducted by the National Geographic Society though some similarities in format may exist, as one of its goals is to help children prepare for the latter.
  2. GEOBEE – Study Corner
  3. The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook: “1001 Questions & Answers to Help You Win Again and Again” By Matthew T. Rosenberg, Jennifer E. Rosenberg
  4. “The Handy Geography Answer Book” By Matthew T. Rosenberg
  5. “National Geographic Bee Official Study Guide” By Stephen F. Cunha
  6. Rosenberg website: Preparing for the Geography Bee
  7. A resource for Junior Geo Bee: www.50states.com
  8. Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, by Andrew Wojtanik
  9. Be a Geo Bee: 1,575 Questions for Aspiring Geography Bees by Sumhith Veda Aradhyula
What is the North South Foundation Geography Bee?

The NorthSouth Foundation Geography Bee is intended as an opportunity for elementary and middle school children to study geography and become more aware of the importance of Geography in day-to-day events.

Scarcely a day goes by when we are not reminded by the media of the ongoing struggle for survival that is being waged in all the far-flung corners of Planet Earth. Headlines tell of Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, a flood in Bangladesh, a famine in Ethiopia or an earthquake in Guatemala. We read of war in Iraq and Afghanistan or terrorism in the Middle East. Our TV screens show us these events in great graphic detail. An adequate understanding of Geography enriches our understanding of the news in its proper context.

For example, we will better understand why an earthquake near Indonesia in the Indian Ocean can affect so many countries around it. We should try to understand not only where these events are occurring, but also why they are taking place and how they will impact our lives.

Knowledge of Geography impacts our understanding of international relations, economy, history, environment, etc.

Finally a shrinking globe and global village are fast becoming a reality during the 21 st century. Geography is all the more relevant in adjusting to this new reality. The knowledge of differing peoples and places one a better citizen of the World today!

Given the Foundation’s Indian roots, it is our responsibility and pride to impart the knowledge of Indian geography, history and its culture to our community. That is why we are making it a part of the syllabus for the NorthSouth Foundation Geography Bee.

See the section on Geography Contest Rules.

No, a participant can only participate in one Geography bee and in one regional center only. Eligible contestants from the regional competitions will be invited into the same bee for the NorthSouth Foundation National Finals event.

Yes, a child in KG is allowed to participate in Junior Geography Bee, on an equal basis without any special privileges. Parents should bring young children into the contest with the primary aim of getting them familiar with the Bee. Over the last several years many young children have participated and done exceedingly well in various contests.

Online registration via NorthSouth Foundation homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the Regional Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

Make learning fun by having Maps displayed visibly at home. This creates stimulating environment that may stir an interest in Geography from an early age. A lot of learning can happen without the child even realizing it! Watch the news regularly as a family and encourage discussion of events. This would help the young children to become aware of the events happening around them.

See the section on Preparation.

NorthSouth Foundation Geography Bee is not associated with the National Geographic Bee. You need to consult with your children’s school on the rules for entering the National Geographic Bee. What is important, however, is that by participating in the NorthSouth Foundation contest, your child will be better prepared to compete in the National Geographic Bee.

NorthSouth Foundation Senior Geography Bee is offered at all chapters. However, Junior Geography Bee is still offered as a pilot program only at selective centers . Consult your Chapter Coordinator for the specific contests being offered in your location.

  1. There is only one level of competition for essay writing Bee:

    • SEW (Senior essay writing Bee): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
  2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation senior essay writing bee is not eligible for competing in this and future North South Foundation spelling contests.
  3. The Essay topic will ONLY be announced 10 minutes before the contest begins. During this 10 minutes time, the contestants need plan on how to write the essay and they are also required to go through the criteria on which the essay is going to be graded.
  4. After these 10 minutes, contestants are given 60 minutes to write the essay on the given topic and the essay should be not more than 1000-words long.
  5. The essay must be an original composition written by the entrant, onsite (i.e., in the Contest Room), and must be written in English.
  6. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
  7. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on all pages of the essay bee booklet .
  8. An essay submitted by any contestant will not be returned under any circumstances. NorthSouth shall reserve the right to publish the essay, name, school and photo of any participant in any manner it deems fit.
  9. Each essay will be graded by a minimum of three judges and the average of the judges scores will be used for ranking. The decisions of the judges are final.

    10. Winners and Ranks:

  10. The First, Second and Third place winners are decided based on the average of the three judges scores. The first place winner shall be ahead by at least 0.01 point to be declared as the champion.
Books & References
  1. Basic Guide to Essay Writing: http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/
  2. Another useful website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/resources/genre.html
  3. Sample essay topics: Samples
Why is the North South Foundation Essay Writing (Leadership In Writing) BEE being conducted?

The North South Foundation Leadership-in-Writing is the latest addition to the suite of annual North South Foundation contests. It is intended to encourage good writing skills while nurturing creativity, the ability to think quickly, and present well-connected ideas persuasively and succinctly. It is designed to be in line with the “timed writing” component of current standardized tests (SAT). Good writing style will be the key differentiating characteristic in identifying the winners.

See the section on Essay Writing Contest Rules.
Yes. You can select the relevant contest(s) for each child(ren), all during the same session online.
See the section on Essay Writing Contest Rules.

The essays will be scored by a qualified panel of North South Foundation Essay Contest judges (three judge will score each essay). Every submitted essay will be read and ranked by every judge on the panel. Depending on the number of contestants, winners will be identified based on North South Foundation Leadership in Writing Contest judging rules. The decisions by the judges shall be final and shall not be subject to any further appeal.

Results will be announced within 2 to 3 weeks after the contest. All regional and national contest results shall be posted on the North South Foundation website.

The North South Foundation Leadership in Writing Bee is intended to encourage “impromptu writing” of “timed essays” with discipline, logic and creativity.The “timed” mode encourages discipline and brevity.It should have good content, good language and good style.Good content implies well-connected ideas written persuasively and effectively on the “given topic”.The child must be able to express his/her idea of leadership very clearly. Examples may be used as and when required. Good language implies the use of good vocabulary. The right word used in the right place packs in a better punch.Writing is a fine art and therefore it is expected that the participant will use the best words possible while writing on the topic. For example, one can say a line very plainly – ‘he is liked by all’ or one can word it better as in ‘he is appreciated by all’.Good style implies many things – writing with flair and color, creativity and adding one’s own personal touch. Grammar and punctuation errors will be taken into account.

Online registration via North South Foundation homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the North South Foundation Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

Currently, the national finals will be held only for the senior level. In the future, they may be held for all levels.

  1. The Public Speaking Bee Finals will be held for the Senior level ONLY:

    • SPW (Senior public speaking Bee): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
  2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation senior public speaking bee is not eligible for competing in this and future North South Foundation spelling contests.
  3. The contestants for the competition will be placed in a separate room (Room A, Waiting Room). Badge numbers will determine the order of the speakers.
  4. Each contestant will be escorted to a separate room (Room B, Preparation Room) 30 minutes before the contestant’s turn, where he/she will be given the speech topic. Thus the contestants will not know the topic ahead of time. No smart phones or any other devices are allowed inside the room during preparation time.
  5. When the 30 minutes are over, the contestant will be escorted to the contest room (Room C) to give the speech. The contestant will have 3 minutes to deliver a short speech on the given topic. All the contestants are given the same topic.
  6. Each contestant will be scored by a panel of three judges and the average of the three scores will be used to rank the contestants. The judges will score on
    14 criteria on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest score possible for that criterion. The decisions of the judges are final.

    7. Winners and Ranks:

  7. The First, Second and Third place winners are decided based on the average of the three judges scores. The first place winner shall be ahead by at least 0.01 point to be declared as the champion.
Sample Topics

JPS: In the 3 minutes provided, describe a project that you and your friends might undertake during the week of spring-break that will help a section of the community or individuals that are less fortunate?

SPS: Suppose you are the speech writer for your favorite candidate for the Presidential elections in 2008. What would be your speech to convince voters on why they should vote for you?

Books & References
Ten Tips for Successful Public Speaking from Toastmasters:

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and healthy. It shows you care about doing well. But, too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here’s how you can control your nervousness and make effective, memorable presentations:

  • Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
  • Know the audience. Greet some of the audience as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
  • Know your material. If you’re not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
  • Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.
  • Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
  • Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don’t want you to fail.
  • Don’t apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience’s attention to something they hadn’t noticed. Keep silent.
  • Concentrate on the message — not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
  • Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm
  • Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need.

If you’d like to learn more about joining Toastmasters, please visit: http://www.toastmasters.org

Why is the NorthSouth Public Speaking Bee being conducted?

Public Speaking, started in 2006, is a pilot contest and is one of the growing lists of contests offered by NorthSouth. This contest is offered with a view to help and educate our children on how to prepare and present a speech before their peers or to a group of people. We all face situations on a regular basis at work, school, and local meetings to deliver speeches to groups of individuals, coworkers and others on topics we have been involved with. At times, people feel stressed out during the preparation and in anticipation of giving a speech.

NorthSouth contests are developed with a view that as our children start preparing for these at an early age, they can become successful communicators and deliver better speeches and become successful. Since public speaking is an art, one can develop the skills for better speaking with determination and hard work.

See the section on Public Speaking Contest Rules.
Yes. You can select the relevant contest(s) for each child(ren), all during the same session online.
See the section on Public Speaking Contest Rules.

The speeches will be scored by a qualified panel of NorthSouth Public Speaking judges (three judge will score each speech). Depending on the number of contestants, winners will be identified based on NorthSouth Public Speaking judging rules. The decisions by the judges shall be final and shall not be subject to any further appeal.

Results will be announced at the same time after all the contestants finish their speeches. All regional and national contest results shall be posted on the NorthSouth website.

  • To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for public speaking
  • To make public speaking an enjoyable task not a chore
  • To better prepare for excelling in public speaking
  • To develop important skills in delivering a better and powerful speeches
  • To develop creativity and ingenuity in situations where one needs to deliver speeches at a short notice
  • To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges
  • To be hardworking, persevering, and determined to meet any challenges
  • To meet other students of Indian origin and develop friendship

Online registration via NorthSouth homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the NorthSouth Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

Currently, the national finals will be held only for the senior level. In the future, they may be held for all levels.

  1. The Public Speaking Bee Finals will be held for the Senior level ONLY:

    • SPW (Senior public speaking Bee): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
  2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation senior public speaking bee is not eligible for competing in this and future North South Foundation spelling contests.
  3. The contestants for the competition will be placed in a separate room (Room A, Waiting Room). Badge numbers will determine the order of the speakers.
  4. Each contestant will be escorted to a separate room (Room B, Preparation Room) 30 minutes before the contestant’s turn, where he/she will be given the speech topic. Thus the contestants will not know the topic ahead of time. No smart phones or any other devices are allowed inside the room during preparation time.
  5. When the 30 minutes are over, the contestant will be escorted to the contest room (Room C) to give the speech. The contestant will have 3 minutes to deliver a short speech on the given topic. All the contestants are given the same topic.
  6. Each contestant will be scored by a panel of three judges and the average of the three scores will be used to rank the contestants. The judges will score on
    14 criteria on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest score possible for that criterion. The decisions of the judges are final.

    7. Winners and Ranks:

  7. The First, Second and Third place winners are decided based on the average of the three judges scores. The first place winner shall be ahead by at least 0.01 point to be declared as the champion.
Sample Topics

JPS: In the 3 minutes provided, describe a project that you and your friends might undertake during the week of spring-break that will help a section of the community or individuals that are less fortunate?

SPS: Suppose you are the speech writer for your favorite candidate for the Presidential elections in 2008. What would be your speech to convince voters on why they should vote for you?

Books & References
Ten Tips for Successful Public Speaking from Toastmasters:

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and healthy. It shows you care about doing well. But, too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here’s how you can control your nervousness and make effective, memorable presentations:

  • Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
  • Know the audience. Greet some of the audience as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
  • Know your material. If you’re not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
  • Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.
  • Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
  • Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don’t want you to fail.
  • Don’t apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience’s attention to something they hadn’t noticed. Keep silent.
  • Concentrate on the message — not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
  • Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm
  • Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need.

If you’d like to learn more about joining Toastmasters, please visit: http://www.toastmasters.org

Why is the NorthSouth Public Speaking Bee being conducted?

Public Speaking, started in 2006, is a pilot contest and is one of the growing lists of contests offered by NorthSouth. This contest is offered with a view to help and educate our children on how to prepare and present a speech before their peers or to a group of people. We all face situations on a regular basis at work, school, and local meetings to deliver speeches to groups of individuals, coworkers and others on topics we have been involved with. At times, people feel stressed out during the preparation and in anticipation of giving a speech.

NorthSouth contests are developed with a view that as our children start preparing for these at an early age, they can become successful communicators and deliver better speeches and become successful. Since public speaking is an art, one can develop the skills for better speaking with determination and hard work.

See the section on Public Speaking Contest Rules.
Yes. You can select the relevant contest(s) for each child(ren), all during the same session online.
See the section on Public Speaking Contest Rules.

The speeches will be scored by a qualified panel of NorthSouth Public Speaking judges (three judge will score each speech). Depending on the number of contestants, winners will be identified based on NorthSouth Public Speaking judging rules. The decisions by the judges shall be final and shall not be subject to any further appeal.

Results will be announced at the same time after all the contestants finish their speeches. All regional and national contest results shall be posted on the NorthSouth website.

  • To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for public speaking
  • To make public speaking an enjoyable task not a chore
  • To better prepare for excelling in public speaking
  • To develop important skills in delivering a better and powerful speeches
  • To develop creativity and ingenuity in situations where one needs to deliver speeches at a short notice
  • To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges
  • To be hardworking, persevering, and determined to meet any challenges
  • To meet other students of Indian origin and develop friendship

Online registration via NorthSouth homepage is generally available, starting early January. You can also refer to the NorthSouth Contest Calendar or ask your Regional Coordinator about registration deadlines and contest dates.

Currently, the national finals will be held only for the senior level. In the future, they may be held for all levels.

  1. There are 2 levels of competition for Brain Bee:
    • Intermediate Brain Bee (IBB) for Grades 6,7, and 8
    • Senior Brain Bee (SBB) for Grades 9, 10, and 11
  2. Brain Bee is open to any child who meets the eligibility guidelines below:
    1. A contestant who participated in a higher-level bee, cannot participate at a lower level in subsequent years.
    2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals is not eligible for competing at the same level in future brain bee contests conducted by the Foundation. National winners of IBB can participate ONLY in SBB. National winners of SBB are not eligible for future Brain Bee competitions.
    3. The contest is conducted in two phases for both levels; however, they are organized differently.
    4. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final.
    5. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
    6. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
    7. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
    8. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
    9. There will NOT be any partial credits for answers. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answers. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.
    10. No recording of any kind is allowed – violations will lead to automatic disqualification from any brain bee for three years.

    3. Intermediate Brain Bee (IBB)

    Phase I (Written):

    • Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
    • The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words as answer.
    • For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter of choice to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
    • When necessary for few questions, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

    Phase II (Lightning/Written):

    • There will be 15 questions in Phase II. A student booklet will be given to record answers.
    • The Phase II questions will be projected onto a screen. After each question, contestants will have 30 seconds to record the answer to the question.
    • Questions will not be shown again.

    Tiebreaker Rules:

  3. To break the ties in selecting the ranks, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Phase I + II scores
    • Phase II scores alone
    • Phase I scores alone
    • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.

    4. Senior Brain Bee (SBB)

    Phase I (Written):

    • Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
    • The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words.
    • For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
    • When necessary, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

    Tiebreaker Rules for Phase I (Written):

    • To break the ties in selecting top candidates to move on to Phase II, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
      • Phase I score alone
      • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.
    • The top 12 to 15 candidates will be selected to enter Phase II contest.

    Phase II (Oral/Written):

    • In each round, a question will be posted.
    • The contestant will be required to register the answer in writing.
    • All contestants have exactly 15 seconds to answer a question once it has been asked. Time starts as soon as the pronouncer has finished reading the question. If there is any confusion, contestants should ask for clarification immediately (put up their hands within three seconds). The clock stops until clarification is provided.
    • After the answering time of 15 seconds is done, correct answers will be provided.
    • 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 judging panel will decide on the validity of each challenge and any alternative answer.
    • 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 contest is on the knowledge of Neuroscience. The contest is based around Brain Facts, which is the major source for questions in the competition. But please be advised not to expect ad verbatim question/answers!

    Winners and Ranks:

  4. The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks. No monetary awards are given.
  1. There are 2 levels of competition for Brain Bee:
    • Intermediate Brain Bee (IBB) for Grades 6,7, and 8
    • Senior Brain Bee (SBB) for Grades 9, 10, and 11
  2. Brain Bee is open to any child who meets the eligibility guidelines below:
    1. A contestant who participated in a higher-level bee, cannot participate at a lower level in subsequent years.
    2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals is not eligible for competing at the same level in future brain bee contests conducted by the Foundation. National winners of IBB can participate ONLY in SBB. National winners of SBB are not eligible for future Brain Bee competitions.
    3. The contest is conducted in two phases for both levels; however, they are organized differently.
    4. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final.
    5. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
    6. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
    7. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
    8. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
    9. There will NOT be any partial credits for answers. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answers. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.
    10. No recording of any kind is allowed – violations will lead to automatic disqualification from any brain bee for three years.

    3. Intermediate Brain Bee (IBB)

    Phase I (Written):

    • Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
    • The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words as answer.
    • For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter of choice to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
    • When necessary for few questions, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

    Phase II (Lightning/Written):

    • There will be 15 questions in Phase II. A student booklet will be given to record answers.
    • The Phase II questions will be projected onto a screen. After each question, contestants will have 30 seconds to record the answer to the question.
    • Questions will not be shown again.

    Tiebreaker Rules:

  3. To break the ties in selecting the ranks, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Phase I + II scores
    • Phase II scores alone
    • Phase I scores alone
    • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.

    4. Senior Brain Bee (SBB)

    Phase I (Written):

    • Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
    • The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words.
    • For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
    • When necessary, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

    Tiebreaker Rules for Phase I (Written):

    • To break the ties in selecting top candidates to move on to Phase II, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
      • Phase I score alone
      • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.
    • The top 12 to 15 candidates will be selected to enter Phase II contest.

    Phase II (Oral/Written):

    • In each round, a question will be posted.
    • The contestant will be required to register the answer in writing.
    • All contestants have exactly 15 seconds to answer a question once it has been asked. Time starts as soon as the pronouncer has finished reading the question. If there is any confusion, contestants should ask for clarification immediately (put up their hands within three seconds). The clock stops until clarification is provided.
    • After the answering time of 15 seconds is done, correct answers will be provided.
    • 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 judging panel will decide on the validity of each challenge and any alternative answer.
    • 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 contest is on the knowledge of Neuroscience. The contest is based around Brain Facts, which is the major source for questions in the competition. But please be advised not to expect ad verbatim question/answers!

    Winners and Ranks:

  4. The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks. No monetary awards are given.

The following links contain the preparatory material for the NorthSouth Brain Bee contests.

Intermediate Brain Bee (IBB)
  1. Brain Facts – A Primer on the Brain and Nervous System
Senior Brain Bee (SBB)
  1. Brain Facts – A Primer on the Brain and Nervous System

NorthSouth Computer Science (CS) Bees are aimed at nurturing Computer Science and Engineering skills among children attending grades 9 through 12, in a challenging environment.

Proficiency in computer science can be personally satisfying and empowering. The underpinnings of everyday life increasingly involve computer technology. CS has become foundational to humankind’s advancement, and is used in almost every field – including manufacturing, health, entertainment, travel, communication, defense, finance, law enforcement, energy, buildings, arts, and of course, education! Students pursuing computer science find jobs in all of these fields. The North South Foundation CS Bee will better prepare children to take standardized tests like AP CS, and IB CS, and to pursue these careers.

Even those of us not pursuing CS careers benefit from CS knowledge; all of us use websites, emails and cell phones regularly. Algorithmic thinking assists us everyday in understanding the technology and applications around us, and to solve problems in a structured scientific way.

The contest is open to students qualifying with good placement at the Regional-level CS competition.

In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for Computer Science competition.

  1. Currently there is only 1 level of competition in Computer Science Bee:
    • Senior (Computer Science Bee Level 3): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
  2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation computer science bee (CSB) contest is not eligible for competing in this and future computer science bee contests conducted by the Foundation.
  3. The syllabus for the Computer Science Bee 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 to cover all aspects of the syllabus.
  4. Computer Science bee is held in one phase and is a multiple-choice format.
  5. Questions will be specified in 2 programming languages: Java-8 and Python-3. Contestants need to be familiar with at least one of the two languages, and can pick the language of choice. They need not know both programming languages.
  6. Only your answer choice entries, from the provided multiple choices, are graded. Scratch paperwork is not graded. There is no partial credit.
    • When the contest is offered in-person: Only the student’s recorded multiple-choice answers on the answer-sheet are graded. Any answers or other work on the question-paper itself are not graded. When the contest is offered online: Students can change their selected answer for any question during the contest. Once contest answers are submitted or if the time runs out, the contest cannot be reopened and no answers can be changed.
  7. There are NO negative points for incorrect answers. The contestant will be awarded one point for each correct answer and zero for each incorrect answer.
  8. Contestants may use blank paper sheets, pens and pencils for scratch work and calculations.
  9. Contestants must not use calculators, books, handwritten or electronic notes, websites, compilers, interpreters, other development/computer applications, phones, smart watches, or any other form of external help – in person, or by messaging/emails/etc.
  10. The maximum time allocated to answer the 30 questions is 45 minutes.
Winners and Ranks:
  1. Based on the scores from the phase, the judges will determine the winners.
  2. At the National Level, top-10 winners will be announced.
  3. Tiebreaker Rules: If there is a tie, to break the ties, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • 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 criteria to resolve the ties or to award joint ranks, at the discretion of the subject coordinator.

We offer Computer Science workshops, PrepClubs and/or coaching sessions to benefit the students. Please review the prerequisites of the offerings; some presume that students are already familiar with Java/Python programming, and cover additional Computer Science concepts that are aligned (but are not necessarily a superset of) the syllabus.

In addition, this page contains general resources for preparation for the contests. Some sample resources and books are categorized below. This is not an endorsement of any commercial product by us. You can search the web for better results and up-to-date links.

Both the AP Computer Science courses/exams websites: here and here

Khan Academy – Online Courses, Lessons and Practice: here .

“Building Java Programs” book – here .

“Learning Python” book – here .

Syllabus

The syllabus for North South Foundation CS Bee covers programming, algorithms and data structures, and also general understanding of computing. The following list provides an overview of the required skills, though is not intended as a comprehensive list.

  1. Students are required to know either Java or Python programming. They do not need to know both.
  2. Variable types, boolean math, bit operations, modulo math, 1D and 2D arrays, conditionals, iteration, methods, functions, recursion, classes, inheritance. For details, please see the AP syllabus.
  3. Data structures: Arrays, Linked lists, Hash-maps, Queues, Stacks, Trees, and Binary Search Trees.
  4. Sorting and Search algorithms.
  5. Algorithm time and space analysis (big-O complexity)
  6. General knowledge of popular OSes, databases, and networking technologies including IP addressing.
Sample Questions click here

Participants will be assessed on their understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the Skeletal,Muscular and Integumentary Systems

Event Time: 30 minutes

There is only one level of competition for Anatomy and Physiology:

  1. Anatomy and Physiology : Grades 6, 7, and 8.

In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for the Science Olympiad Competitions.

  1. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final.
  2. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
  3. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
  4. One 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper that may contain information on both sides in any form and from any source along with two stand-alone non-programmable, non-graphing calculators (Class II).
  5. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
  6. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
  7. There will NOT be any partial credits for answers. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answers. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.
  8. No recording of any kind is allowed – violations will lead to automatic disqualification from any Science Olympiad for three years.

Phase I (Written):

  1. Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
  2. The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words as answer.
  3. For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter of choice to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
  4. When necessary for few questions, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

Tiebreaker Rules:

  1. To break the ties in selecting the ranks, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Phase I scores
    • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.

Winners and Ranks:

  1. The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks. No monetary awards are given.

This event consists of a written test in the following subject areas

  1. The anatomy of skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle
    • The roles of skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle in the body
    • Skeletal muscle fibers, different types of skeletal muscle fibers, and their functions
    • Skeletal muscular contraction
    • The neuromuscular junction, the role of the nervous system in muscle function, and muscle sensory systems
    • Musculoskeletal interactions
    • How to identify the major skeletal muscles, as well as their origins, insertions, and functions
    • The effects of exercise and aging on the muscular system.
    • Several homeostatic imbalances affecting the muscular system
  2. The interaction of the skeletal and muscular systems to allow movement
  3. Muscle fibers – the cellular and gross anatomy of skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle & smooth muscle
  4. Physiology of the skeletal muscle contraction system and the neuromuscular junction
  5. How the skeletal muscles move bone, maintain posture, and produce heat
  6. Skeletal muscle actions – origin, insertion, interactions of different muscles
  7. Location and identification, including origin, insertion, and function, of the major skeletal muscles of the body listed on the 2020 Science Olympiad Major Skeletal Muscle List
  8. Exercise and aging effects on the cellular and gross anatomical structures of the muscular system
  9. Muscle and tendon injuries and their prevention (i.e., strains and sprains)
  10. The diseases on each level from the cell to the whole person as listed: Poliomyelitis, Muscular Dystrophies, Myasthenia gravis, tetanus, myositis
  11. For the skeletal system you will need to know:
    • The names of the bones and their surface anatomy as shown on a diagram, X-ray, CT scan, and MRI
    • The name, structure, and function of joint types and the ranges allowed by each joint
    • The structure of bones in cross-sectional diagrams
    • The structures and function of bones, bone marrow, and cartilage
    • The development aspects of bones
    • How to distinguish between types of vertebrae
    • Homeostatic imbalances of the skeletal system
    • The effects of exercise and aging on the skeletal system and their effects on the homeostatic imbalances of the skeletal syste
    • Bones of the axial and appendicular skeleton, including the ability to label bones on a diagram and/or X-ray
    • Name, structure, and function of types of joints (ball and socket joints, fibrous joints, cartilagenous joints, synovial joints, etc.), including the range of motion allowed by each type
    • Name, structure, and function of the muscles and ligament attachments that surround joints
    • Structure, cellular composition, and function of bones, bone marrow, and cartilage, including the ability to identify components in cross-section
    • Distinguish types of spinal vertebrae (e.g., cervical, thoracic, and lumbar)
    • Understanding of the following diseases at the levels from the cell to the whole body, including the radiological features of each disease: osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, fractures, disc herniation, scoliosis, anterior cruciate ligament tears, medial collateral ligament damage
    • The effect of exercise on the skeletal system and the aforementioned diseases
      • Understanding of the following additional diseases: spinal stenosis, achondroplasia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, spinal fractures, ankylosing spondylitis, and osteosarcoma
      • Salter-Harris fracture identification system

Integumentary System

The integumentary system or integument is a focus topic of the event Anatomy. The integumentary system is composed of skin, hair, nails, and glands.

Suggested Resources

  1. Scioy wiki
  2. Netters anatomy

Participants will use their investigative skills in the scientific study of disease, injury, health, and disability in populations or groups of people.

Approximate Time: 30 minutes

There is only one level of competition for Disease Detectives:

  1. Disease Detectives : Grades 6, 7, and 8.

In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for the Science Olympiad Competitions.

  1. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final.
  2. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
  3. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
  4. One 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper that may contain information on both sides in any form and from any source along with two stand-alone non-programmable, non-graphing calculators (Class II).
  5. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
  6. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
  7. There will NOT be any partial credits for answers. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answers. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.
  8. No recording of any kind is allowed – violations will lead to automatic disqualification from any Science Olympiad for three years.

Phase I (Written):

  1. Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
  2. The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words as answer.
  3. For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter of choice to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
  4. When necessary for few questions, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

Tiebreaker Rules:

  1. To break the ties in selecting the ranks, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Phase I scores
    • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.

Winners and Ranks:

  1. The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks. No monetary awards are given.

This event addresses three topics related to disease, injury, health, and disability in populations or groups of people. Each part should count approximately equally towards a team’s final score. Questions should be process-oriented and involve skills in evaluation and interpretation. Matching pathogens with specific diseases (i.e. – What causes X disease?) or knowledge of signs, symptoms or epidemiologic characteristics such as incubation or latency periods or infectious dose is not part of this event. However, it is appropriate to provide this information as background information and expect competitors to be able to use it.

Students will be asked to interpret graphs, basic data and will be asked to give suggestions regarding outbreak investigation.

Students will be given data related to disease distributions and will be asked to interpret it.

Suggested Resources

  1. Science Olympiad -SciOly.org, soinc.Com
  2. Leon Gordis -Epidemiology

Participants will be assessed on their understanding of Bacteria,Viruses,Fungi and their uses in Industrial and Health care .In addition Microscopy, Microbial Genetics will also be tested.

Event Time: 30 minutes

There is only one level of competition for Microbe Mission:

  1. Microbe Mission : Grades 6, 7, and 8.

In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for the Science Olympiad Competitions.

  1. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final.
  2. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
  3. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
  4. One 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper that may contain information on both sides in any form and from any source along with two stand-alone non-programmable, non-graphing calculators (Class II).
  5. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
  6. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
  7. There will NOT be any partial credits for answers. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answers. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.
  8. No recording of any kind is allowed – violations will lead to automatic disqualification from any Science Olympiad for three years.

Phase I (Written):

  1. Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
  2. The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words as answer.
  3. For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter of choice to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
  4. When necessary for few questions, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

Tiebreaker Rules:

  1. To break the ties in selecting the ranks, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
    • Phase I scores
    • 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 including date of birth to resolve the tie.

Winners and Ranks:

  1. The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks. No monetary awards are given.

The competition should cover all of the topics and not emphasize just one area such as microbial disease.

  1. Understanding parts, functions, images and sample preparation in bright field, phase contrast, reflected, light/inverted microscopes, confocal microscopes and electron microscopes. Estimation/calculation of size based on scales in pictures or microscopic information and field of view determination.
  2. Structure (e.g., size, organelles, membrane and cell wall composition, as applicable) & function of prions, viruses, viroids, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic microbes (e.g., fungi, algae, heterotrophiC protists, parasitic worms)

Structure and function of nuclei, mitochondria and chloroplasts & theory of symbiogenesis

  1. Identification of bacterial cell shapes (i.e., rods, cocci, spirochetes); Gram stain procedure and difference between gram+, gram-, and acid fast bacteria v. Methods to culture bacteria (i.e., liquid vs. agar), interpreting bacterial growth curves, plate counts to quantify bacteria; defined vs. complex media, differential vs. selective media, the “Great Plate Count Anomaly”, differences between batch culture and chemostat growth. Using growth curves to identify limiting nutrients and optimal growth conditions
  2. Techniques to determine antibiotic susceptibility, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and resistance transfer, Distinguish between bacteriostatic and bactericidal antibiotics
  3. Bacterial transcription, translation, and genome replication
  4. Bacterial gene regulation as demonstrated in the lac operon and trp operons
  5. Culture-independent methods to study microbial communities: 16/18s rRNA amplicon sequencing and metagenomics, basic sample preparation and data analysis procedures for these techniques
    • Contrasting photoautotrophic vs. heterotrophic metabolic strategies, describe metabolic strategies of green sulfur bacteria, iron oxidizing, heterotrophic, and cyanobacteria based on energy and carbonsource.

List and describe the steps of lytic and lysogenic virus replication

Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer (i.e., transduction, transformation, conjugation)

  1. Industrial applications of microbes – identify which microbes are commonly involved and their uses in: fermentation in bread and kombucha production, algal biofuels, bioremediation, & phage therapy
  2. Describe types of microbial interactions, ie competition, cooperation, and parasitism
  3. Causes and effects of microbial population explosions in the context of algal blooms, thrush, and enterocolitis.
  4. Describe the structure and function of spores and cysts
  5. Extremophiles (i.e., thermophiles, halophiles, psychrophiles) and their characteristics
  6. Desrcibe the function and life cycle of the following organisms and agents:
    • Viruses: SARS-CoV-2 virus, HIV-1, Influenza A virus, Hepatitis B virus, T4 phage, Canine parvovirus 2, Mimivirus, Poliovirus, Banana bunchy top virus
    • Bacteria: Vibrio cholerae, Rickettsia rickettsii, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,Haemophilus influenzae,
    • Fungi: Candida albicans, Saccharomyces spp, Dermatophytes
    • Worms: Taenia solium, Ancylostoma duodenale
    • Viroids: Potato spindle tuber viroid
      • Control of lac and trp operons for research applications
      Functions of microbes in lakes and oceans, soil, and the gut microbiome

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