I will check email periodically over the summer, but not regularly. I am traveling quite a bit and have 3 young children so my check-ins will be inconsistent. Additionally, due to the changeover from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus, my access to scheduling information will be extremely limited. Look for communication from the general school calls/email updates about when schedules will be available.

No AIG newsletters will be sent over the summer break - they will begin again the first week of school on August 26, 2025.

Scholarship Value: $1,500

Awards Available: 38

Award Deadline: Jun 9, 2025

The 2025 Ocean Awareness Contest Connections to Nature: Looking Inside, Going Outside – encourages you to explore the natural world and your place in it. We invite you to think about your unique connection to nature and how being outside makes you feel. There are so many different ways that you can connect to nature, whether that’s exploring the history of the land you live on, volunteering in the fight against climate change, or taking a restorative walk in your local park. Go through the sub-themes and explore the topics that resonate with you. Share your relationship with the natural world through art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia. What is your connection to nature?

A NEW CHALLENGE-Last year, we asked you to tell your climate story your personal experiences, insights, and perceptions about our changing climate reality. Your connection to nature may relate to your climate story, but there’s so much more to nature than climate change! We challenge you to dive into this year’s theme and explore your connection to the natural world through the lenses of:

• Generational Knowledge

• Concrete Jungle

• Resilience

• Healthy Environments, Healthy Humans

We hope that these sub-themes can serve as jumping off points, prompting you toward further exploration! Be sure to check out our past winners and explore our broader Resource Studio for ideas and guidance.

Our Resource Studio is a unique space for creative exploration and a jumping-off point for deep inquiry of climate change, ocean conservation, and using art and creativity as tools in environmental movements.

WHO MAY ENTER-Students ages 11-18 from around the world are invited to participate in the Ocean Awareness Contest. Enter the division based on your age at the time of entry:

Junior Division: Age 11-14

Senior Division: Age 15-18

Students can participate as an individual or as a club, class, or group of any size. All students must provide the contact information for an Adult Sponsor (teacher, parent, mentor, etc.) Students who have started college or university are not eligible to participate in the Contest.

Submissions are accepted in:

• Visual Art: Handcrafted

• Visual Art: Digital

• Poetry & Spoken Word

• Creative Writing

• Film

• Performing Arts: Music & Dance

• Interactive & Multimedia

How to Apply:

Go To Scholarship Application

Summer months bring long days, warm weather, school vacations – and great opportunities for kids to serve and families, camps, and youth groups to plan projects together.

We've compiled our annual list of Summer of Service programs, events, and opportunities that you can participate in this summer.

Individuals, families, summer camps, summer school classes, and youth groups can also use YSA's free resources in the Youth Service Knowledge Center to help you plan your own Summer of Service projects too!

Each year, the U.S. House of Representatives sponsors the annual Congressional App Challenge.

This contest is open to middle and high school students, working individually or in teams of up to 4 members, to create a new app, game, robot, etc. Students may use any programming language. Registration is now open, and all apps must be submitted by October 30, 2025. Judging begins in November and winners will be announced in December. District winners are invited to a spring reception in Washington, DC to celebrate their achievement.

Students have until June 20 to send one free score report to the college, university, or scholarship organization of their choice. When they sign in to My AP, they’ll see a pop-up window with instructions for making their selection. The official score report will be sent in July, and it will include scores for the AP Exams that students took this year as well as any past AP Exam scores. More information about the free score send is available on the AP Students website.

The College Board National Recognition Program awards academic honors to high-performing 10th- and 11th-grade students across the country, helping them stand out on their college and scholarship applications. Students are selected for this opportunity based on their exceptional performance on the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, or AP® Exams. Colleges use the program to find talented students who may be a good fit for their campus.

The 2025 National Recognition Program offers three award designations to celebrate students of all backgrounds in high schools nationwide and help colleges connect with remarkable students across the country.

• New! School Recognition Award to recognize talented students, including those from lesser-known schools
• First-Generation Recognition Award
• Rural and Small Town Recognition Award

Students can claim their award on BigFuture.org but must be confirmed by the June 27 deadline. It takes about 5 minutes for students to verify eligibility by sharing their GPA and confirming they meet the award criteria. All students who meet the eligibility criteria will receive an award. Check your email for a notification from College Board or Big Future.

Virtual NSLI-Y, a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is a beginner-level language and cultural experience for U.S. citizens currently enrolled in U.S.-based high schools.

Eligible students can apply to learn Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, or Russian. Selected finalists receive a merit scholarship to study the language and associated cultures in live, online classes with peers from across the U.S.!

Virtual NSLI-Y Fall '25 Application Now Available!

Virtual NSLI-Y participants who meet eligibility requirements may still apply for NSLI-Y overseas summer and academic year programs.

Deadline to Apply: Monday, June 9, 2025, 4 PM US Eastern Time

Teen Writers Workshop

July 21-August 1, 2025

Monday - Friday, 12:30-4:00 p.m. on campus

The Teen Writers Workshop is a two-week summer afternoon program that helps writers ages 14-19 develop and explore their creative writing talents and skills. Often, students who have aged out of the Young Writers Workshop find a new group of like-minded friends and creative soul mates in this sister program. See below for the easy two-step process to apply to this on-campus program.

Questions? Email Director Dr. William K. Lawrence at wklawren@ncsu.edu.

Sponsorship

The Teen Writers Workshop, which grew out of the popular Young Writers Workshop, was begun by writer/professor Daun Daemon in 2007. TWW is a nonprofit program sponsored by the NC State College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of English.

Eligibility

Rising 9th-12th graders and recent graduates who will enter college in Fall 2025 are eligible to apply with a writing sample.

NC State University provides equal opportunity in all education programs/activities and prohibits discrimination and harassment. For more information on NC State’s Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy, please visit policies.ncsu.edu

Step 1: Application

Please apply HERE for the 2025 program starting on March 15. Note that there is no confirmation for your application. You will be notified via email of your status within 15 days. When you pay (within the time frame below) is what determines the tuition level.

Step 2: Pay Tuition

Note that your teen writer has not reserved a place until you have received an acceptance email and paid the tuition. Cost of tuition depends on when you pay (see levels below). NO payments can be accepted after July 5.

It's the time of year to start signing up! The site linked below is certainly not exhaustive, but we have tried to include what we can. If a link on the page doesn't work . . . google it. Many of the links change every year and it is impossible to keep up.

Women in STEM make up 27% of the STEM workforce, despite women workers as a whole making up 48% of the workforce.

Over the past fifty years, efforts have been made to increase female representation in STEM. The efforts have thus far been successful, but now is not the time to let up on this progress. Women are being encouraged to pursue STEM more now than ever before.

The Young Women in STEM Scholarship looks to encourage the future generation of women in STEM fields, especially those coming from low-income backgrounds. Female high school seniors and undergraduate students that are from a low-income household and are pursuing a degree in STEM can apply.

To apply, answer a series of short essay questions about yourself and your goals for the future.

How to Apply:

Go To Scholarship Application

Volunteer virtually by submitting reviews to their Teen Book Reviews page. If you would like your review to count toward volunteer service hours, please fill out this virtual volunteer form first, if you have not already.

This page will give teen patrons the chance to share their thoughts with others on the books, graphic novels, and manga they read - and also provide them with the opportunity to earn virtual volunteer hours, if they so choose.

Quick Info:

• Teens can submit book reviews without becoming a virtual volunteer, but those who would like to receive credit for their reviews will need to apply to become a virtual volunteer first.

• Eligibility wise, to submit reviews, teens will need to be in grades 6-12 and have a New Hanover County Library card: CLASS Project, student ID numbers count. 😊 (every student at NHCS has this account already where their library card is their student number)

• Teens will earn 1.5 service hours for each review submitted (the average going rate among other public library systems that have similar programs in place).

• This opportunity to virtually volunteer will complement the NHCPL current in-person teen volunteer option, not replace it.

If you have any questions, feel free to email Ezra Letson, YA Library Associate, at eletson@nhcgov.com

Each month on the 2nd Saturday, CFRW conducts a community clean-up somewhere in the local Cape Fear area. Clean-ups are almost always from 9am-11am. Anyone can sign-up to join the clean-up event. CFRW staff provide gloves, trash/recycle bags, and grabbers for volunteers. Check the calendar each month as locations are usually TBD until about a week before. You should register to attend so they will have enough supplies. Click on the event in the CFRW calendar to register.

The GAC is an independent council of families, community members, business leaders, and NHCS staff who meet monthly to support and advocate for the NHCS AIG Program. The GAC is part of the community partnership standard in the 2025-2028 AIG Plan. The council provides perspectives, information, and independent initiatives that are not shared through regular NHCS AIG communications.

2024-25 meetings are concluded

2025-26 meeting schedule will be posted in August 2025. If you are interested in being a GAC liaison for your student's school, please contact your Gifted Specialist.

All meetings are from 6:00-7:00pm at the Spencer Board Room at 1805 S. 15th Street

Please use this link to join the GAC's mailing list for newsletters and other information for how to support your student and their school's AIG program.

Information about these opportunities was provided in previous newsletters. Check the archive to get more details and links to registration/applications:

• NC State Young Writers Camp - discount registration ends June 15
• UNCW Young Writers Camp - deadline to register June 11
• State Troopers Camp - deadline June 10 or until full
• Youth Entrepreneurship Camp
• Camp Med
• FELC (enterprise leadership

Email: jennifer.crudeli@nhcs.net

AHS Office: 405

Hoggard Office: 104B