Please see the information below from:

Kim Ward

Communications Specialist

The Office of West Virginia Treasurer John D. Perdue

www.wvtreasury.com

1. It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:

Did you know—many students get their first credit card before they even go to college?

A good rule of thumb to help control credit card debt is to try and pay off your balance each month. If you only pay the minimum payment each month it could take more than ten years to pay off just $1000 in debt.

2. It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:

Each year, more than $13 billion is processed through the Treasurer’s Office.

How much is that? Well if you took 13 billion one dollar bills and put them end to end, it would go around the earth almost 52 times.

3. It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:

Have you started thinking about possibly going to college after high school? Studies show people who receive a college degree or other form of educational training earn one million dollars more in their lifetime than those who do not have a higher education.

4. It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:

If you have money—even if it’s just from an allowance—you can make a savings plan.

First, your saving goal has to be realistic. Odds are you won’t save enough money from allowance alone to buy a new car when you turn 16.

Next, be specific. Decide how much you want to save and what you are saving it for.

Set a deadline. I want to save enough by the beginning of the new school year.

Then take action. Decide how you will save. Like giving the money to your parents for safekeeping or starting a savings account at the bank.

5. It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:

Creating a budget is simple.

First, make a list of any money you receive each month. Include allowance, any money you earn from chores or odd jobs, birthday money, etc.

Next, make a list of everything you spend money on each month. Things like movies, clothes, music, and snacks.

Now, take the total amount of money you spend each month and subtract it from the total amount of money you make each month to see if you have a balanced budget.

6. It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:

If free really free? If someone is offering you something for free, there’s usually something in it for them. A free t-shirt is probably an advertisement. A free web service is likely littered with ads. If you learn to recognize why things are being given away for free—or really cheap—you’ll be able to make smarter decisions about buying things and recognizing a truly good deal.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author or organization represented and do not necessarily reflect the views of the WVDE, or its employees.

Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.

Assistant Director

Instructional Materials

Social Studies

WVDE Office of Secondary Learning

On behalf of the National Geographic Bee:

Engage students in learning geography through an exciting contest. The National Geographic Society has released the official contest materials of the National Geographic Bee for free – a Free-Bee! Schools with grades 4-8 qualify to receive the Free-Bee classroom materials. Request the National Geographic Free-Bee for your school here.

Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.

Assistant Director

Instructional Materials

Social Studies

WVDE Office of Secondary Learning

2015 County Government Essay Contest

April is “National County Government Month” and the County Commissioners’ Association of WV (CCAWV) is hosting our 4th annual essay contest for 8th grade students across West Virginia.

There will be a monetary prizes for 1^st,  2^nd, and 3^rd place student winners. There will also be a monetary prize for the 1^st place winner’s Teacher to be used for classroom activities.  1^st Place Student will receive $300 and teacher will receive $300.   2^nd place Student – $250 and 3^rd place Student – $150.

One of CCAWV’s goals is to increase information and public awareness about county government and the office of County Commissioner.  As an initiative of this goal we are excited to partner with West Virginia educators to encourage students to learn and write about their local county governing body, the County Commission.

Teachers, encourage students to write about a particular aspect of county commission authority that impacts the student’s life.  Perhaps it is the funding of parks or county pools, or the funding to volunteer fire departments, new water or sewer projects perhaps, or farmland preservation boards that preserve property for farming activity.  There are a multitude of areas where an 8^th grader’s life is touched by county government…we’d like to hear about it!

Student participants are asked to type a 500-word essay on the topic…..

“How does my county commission make life better for me?”

Take a class fieldtrip to a county commission meeting!  Ask your county commissioners to come speak to the class!  Find out what your county commission is working on in your county and encourage your students to write about it through the eyes of an 8^th grader and why it matters to them.

A committee of commissioners and CCAWV Staff will serve as judges of the contest.  All entries must be emailed by 5:00 pm April 17, 2015to qualify.  (Please see complete rules attached)  Entries should be emailed to:  vivian@ccawv.org   Questions, please contact Megan Stroup at megan@ccawv.org  or call 304-345-4639.

A winner will be announced by April 30, 2015

CCAWV County Government Essay Contest Rules 2015

1. The contest is open to all 8^th grade students who are enrolled in a West Virginia public or private school.
2. The contest deadline is 5 p.m. on April 17, 2015 (see No. 8).
3. Each essay is limited to a maximum of 500 words and a minimum of 400 words and must address the following question: “How does my county commission make life better for me?” The essay must address specifically the county commission of the county in which the student resides.
4. Each student is limited to one entry.
5. Each teacher must completely fill out an official application form (attached). Please submit each entry individually as a Word or PDF document with a copy of the application form attached.
6. All entries must contain the student’s name, email address, and the county name in which the essay is about.
7. All entries must be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF format and must be submitted by the student’s teacher.
8. All entries must be emailed to Vivian@ccawv.org prior to 5 p.m. on April 17, 2015.
9. The winning essay will be announced by April 30, 2015.
10. The 1^st place student will receive $300, and the teacher who submitted the 1^st place essay will receive $300 to be used for classroom activities
11. The 2^nd place student will receive $250 and the 3^rd place student will receive $150.
12. The winning students and his/her teachers will be invited to a County Commissioners meeting in their home county to receive their awards.
13. The 1^st place winning essay will be published in Commissioners’ Corner, CCAWV’s official publication, and posted on the CCAWV website, (www.ccawv.org).
14. Essays will be judged on the following criteria: understanding of the role of county commission; grammar and spelling; clarity and organization of thought.
15. By entering the contest, each student and teacher agrees to allow his/her name to be used in a news release announcing the contest winner in the event that their essay is selected as a winning essay. In addition, they agree to allow their photograph to be published in the Commissioners’ Corner and on the CCAWV Web site.
16. Entries will not be returned.

Official Application Form

CCAWV 2015 County Government Essay Contest

County____________________________________________________

Teacher’s Name:____________________________________________

Teacher’s Email address:_____________________________________

Name of School:____________________________________________

School Telephone #:_________________________________________

School Mailing Address:______________________________________

__________________________________________________________

**********************************************************

Submitting Student’s Name___________________________________

Submitting Student’s mailing address (if available):________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

(Teacher, you must submit a copy of this completed form with each student entry.)

Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.

Assistant Director

Instructional Materials

Social Studies

WVDE Office of Secondary Learning