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Thunderbirds Players and Staff Partake in EVERFI EduCup Challenge for K-12 Students in U.S. and Canada

May 27, 2020

Washington, D.C.– EVERFI, Inc., the leading social impact education innovator, today announced that it is joining forces with six sports leagues to launch a first-of-its-kind education challenge for students who are homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Halifax Thunderbirds players Luc Magnan and Graeme Hossack are actively participating in this challenge as both are teachers at The Hill Academy. Magnan a French teacher and Hossack a Math and Data Management teacher have had their teaching world change tremendously due to the current pandemic. In addition, Head Coach Mike Accursi is a Guidance Counselor at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary High School, Equipment Manager Dave Sowden teaches grade 5 at Oliver M. Smith, and Athletic Performance Coach Dan Nobel is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at The Hill Academy.  

 

Alongside Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Football League in partnership with United Way Worldwide, National Hockey League in partnership with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, National Lacrosse League, and the Premier League, EVERFI will be bringing the EduCup Challenge to K-12 students throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

 

The EduCup Challenge is a two-week competition encouraging students to engage in learning and healthy habits as learned through EVERFI courses and showcased through daily social media challenges. Running May 18-29, students will have the opportunity to experience the digital courses co-created by EVERFI and the professional sports leagues and submit responses to a series of questions about the course(s) taken in order to be eligible to win an academic scholarship or other prizes.

 

“We are honored and excited to be alongside such great global organizations working on the EduCup Challenge” Nick Sakiewicz, Commissioner, National Lacrosse League. “This program really hits home for us not just because it ties to our social responsibility initiatives, but because we also have over 15 players, coaches, referees, and spouses who also happen to be teachers, and will benefit from the lessons that they can use as they all adjust to online learning.”

 

The regional competition will feature courses that appeal to students from kindergarten to 12th grade and will highlight several courses that were developed directly with the leagues. Each league brings a uniquely developed, curriculum-aligned resource to students and parents that will be the foundation of the challenge.

 

  • Major League Baseball – Summer Slugger focuses on math and literacy skills for upper elementary school students
  • Major League Soccer – Actions Matter addresses leadership development and bullying prevention for middle and high school students
  • National Football League and United Way Worldwide – Character Playbook aims to build character education and foster healthy relationships for upper middle and high school students
  • National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association – Hockey Scholar teaches Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills for middle school students and Healthier Me educates upper elementary students on making smart health and wellness decisions
  • National Lacrosse League – NLL Digital Scholars includes digital citizenship for middle school students and mental wellness for high school students
  • Premier League – Premier League Primary Stars USA includes Ignition, a digital literacy curriculum for middle school students, as well as Compassion Project, a unique program that teaches empathy and compassion and Healthier Me - Elementary School Health Curriculum, both for elementary school students.

 

The EduCup Challenge will divide students by region based on their geographic location – north, east, south, and west. Students will be asked to complete as many of the league-sponsored programs as possible within the two-week Challenge period. Once they have taken a course, students will have the opportunity to answer questions related to their educational experience throughout the Challenge. During the competition, each region will seek to have the most students complete the educational programming. 

 

In addition to completing courses, students are invited to participate in a social media challenge to share their progress. New challenges will be shared on Instagram and Twitter and the EduCup Challenge website daily, with each league having a specific day to present their challenge to students based on the program they sponsor through EVERFI. Students will respond to the social media challenges using predetermined EduCup Challenge hashtags. 

 

To participate in the EduCup Challenge, students will visit www.educupchallenge.com, log in to their school, and complete the courses that are sponsored by the participating leagues. Students will also have the opportunity to compete for one of four $2,500 academic scholarships or a tablet or laptop computer. EVERFI will name one region as the EduCup Challenge winner, determined by which region has the most student participation. The winners of the scholarships and computers will be selected based on submissions to course questions from students from the winning region. 

 

 

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