Any student enrolled in a public, parochial or other private elementary or middle school in the United States of America, Canada or an overseas U.S. military installation may submit artwork to the 2013 National School Bus Safety Poster Contest. Posters must be received at NAPT Headquarters by Oct. 1, 2013.
Poster Theme
Every poster and slogan must harmonize with the 2013 poster contest theme: At My Stop – You Stop!
Contestants must illustrate only this theme, and the theme must be exactly as written above on the poster.
Drawings must be original, correct in safety concept, and the exclusive work of the student entering the contest in idea, design and execution. All artwork should be positive in approach, demonstrating only proper school bus safety behaviors. At least a part of a yellow school bus must be present in the poster.
An art instructor or art teacher should supervise all work.
Lettering & Drawing
The poster design may incorporate freehand-drawn letters only. Stenciled, pre-printed, manufactured stick-on or press-on letters or tracings may not be used and will disqualify the poster. Lettering should be clearly legible, even if used as part of the poster design.
Contest Infrastructure
The National School Bus Safety Poster Contest is sponsored each year by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services and the National School Transportation Association.
The National School Bus Safety Poster Contest is supported by a state/province level infrastructure. The national contest is open only to winners of state/province contests or contests held by overseas US military installations. No other posters will be accepted. Contact your state director of pupil transportation or the NAPT headquarters for information about where to submit posters in your state contest.
Each participating US state, Canadian province, or overseas US military installation may submit one (only first-place winners) winning poster in each of the following categories: Division 1 ‑ Grades K‑2; Division 2 ‑ Grades 3-5; Division 3 ‑ Grade 6-8; Division 4 ‑ Special Education; Division 5 – CAD (Computer Aided Drawing). There is also a separate contest for international entries (Division 6).
Please note: Divisions 5 – CAD and international entries (Division 6) are eligible for competition within those respective divisions but are not eligible to be the Overall Contest Winner.
Students who live in a US state, Canadian province or overseas US military installation that does not have a contest may submit entries directly to NAPT National School Bus Safety Poster Contest committee for evaluation and potential selection for national competition.
No more than five posters from each state/province may be entered in the national contest (one in each division).
Winning posters from each participating state/province/overseas US military installation must be mailed first class in a flat envelope to:
National School Bus Safety Poster Contest
c/o NAPT
1840 Western Ave.
Albany, NY 12203
All posters and related intellectual property rights become the property of the NAPT upon receipt and are not returned to the artist, his/her parents/legal guardians, art instructor or art teacher, school, state or contest sponsor, or any other person(s) claiming a right, title or other interest in the poster.
Poster Specifications
Completed poster size must be 11” x 17” or 12″ x 18.” There must be a blank 3″ x 5″ card securely fastened to the back of the poster, which displays the student’s name, student’s address, grade, age, division (see above), teacher’s name, school name and school address. Please print clearly. Posters may be illustrated on the vertical or horizontal axis. Do not roll posters. They must be mailed/delivered flat. Do not place name, school, etc., on the front of the poster. Display information on the back only.
Designs should be submitted on quality tag, poster illustration board or heavy paper. Construction paper may be used, but winning entries must be mounted on quality tag poster. Lamination is not permitted and will disqualify the poster. Cut paper/stencils (freehand or pre-drawn stick-on stencils) are not permitted and will disqualify the poster.
There is no limitation on the use and number of colors. There is no limitation on the type of media ‑ such as print, crayon, felt pen, etc. ‑ used on the poster design; however, wood, plastic, glass or metal should not be part of the poster. Collage materials should not be used. Glued-on pieces will eliminate the poster.
Poster designs may not incorporate any copyrighted characters (i.e., comic and/or television characters), photographs, and magazine or newspaper illustrations.
When Can Posters Be Drawn?
Posters can be drawn anytime between September 2012 and September 2013, up to the deadline to submit an entry. States/provinces often prefer the artwork to be created in the spring and then hold a state contest in the summer to determine which poster(s) will be entered in the national contest. A state/province pupil transportation association often sponsors these contests. Please contact your state director of pupil transportation services or NAPT headquarters to obtain the name, telephone number and/or email of the person who can best explain the poster contest logistics in your state.
Judging
Prominent individuals in the field of pupil transportation will evaluate posters during the annual NAPT Conference & Trade Show. Criteria for the selection of award‑winning posters are:
- Relationship of the poster design to the school bus safety practices (Safety Impact)
- Originality of the poster and how the idea is expressed in the poster design (Originality)
- Artwork and its execution (Artistic Quality)
- Visual impact of the poster design (Visual Impact)
The NSBSW Committee has the right to disqualify any entry that does not comply with all contest requirements.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded for each division as follows:
- 1st Place and Overall Winner – $500 check
- 1st Place Winners of remaining three divisions – $250 check
- 2nd Place Winners of each four divisions – $100 check
- 3rd Place Winners of each four divisions – $50 check
- 1st Place Winner – CAD division – $50 check
- 1st Place Winner – International division – $50 check
The first place/overall winning poster will be used to promote 2014 National School Bus Safety Week.
More information
- National Association for Pupil Transportation website
- Pat Hinckley
Maine Department of Education
Maine DOE Student Transportation website
624-6886
pat.hinckley@maine.gov