🚀 Dive into the New Student Challenge Handbook, Discord Community, Grant Opportunities & Esports League Updates! 📖

Welcome to the November G4C Learn Newsletter! We are excited to share this year's Student Challenge Competition Handbook. Join our new Student Challenge community on Discord, and explore a program for US-based educators to learn how to lead Game Jams at their schools. Save the dates for our upcoming Play Days and Camp Days for the spring semester of the Verizon Innovative Learning Esports League, featuring engaging, easy-to-commit esports activities with your students. Don’t miss out on our upcoming professional development sessions and more. Stay tuned for an energizing read! 🌟🎮
- G4C Learn Team

With the G4C Student Challenge kicking off, we are thrilled to announce that the 2025 Student Challenge Competition Handbook is LIVE! Inside, you will find information about the award categories, the evaluation criteria for student submissions, and all of the logistical information students will need to submit their games and character designs. 📖 

 The competition portal opens on January 6, so start preparing today! 🌟 

Ready to bring hands-on game design to your classroom? The G4C Game Jam Grant supports US-based G4C Student Challenge public school educators teaching 5-12 in leading school-based game jams that inspire students to create social impact games for the G4C Student Challenge! 🎮

Eligible educators will receive a $1500 stipend to fund game jam planning and activities, helping students explore social impact themes for this year’s Challenge. During these Game Jams, students will rapidly prototype their original digital or tabletop games to form a foundation for their Student Challenge competition submissions.

We are excited to share that our 2nd season of the Esports League with Verizon Innovative Learning, kicking off in the spring of 2025 for middle and high school students across the U.S.! Coaches from Vanta Esports will guide students and educators in Rocket League. In this fast-paced game, players drive cars to score goals with a giant soccer ball.

🌟 Discover the benefits of scholastic esports, plus key dates and new programming options:

• ⛺Camp Day - Schedule a private session for your students to work with a Vanta coach on in-game skills, teamwork, and strategy. Register Here!

• 🎮 Play Days from 11/18-11/24  - Join us for a scheduled "scrimmage," separate from the full league. These drop-in sessions are a great way for your team to play against other schools at a time that works for you. Register Here!

• 🤝 1:1 Onboarding and Support: Need help setting up Rocket League? Schedule a 1:1 onboarding consultation with Vanta.

🏆 Spring Esports League Schedule:

• Professional Development: 2 weeks of free professional development starting the week of January 20th.

• 1:1 Support from Vanta: February 3rd - February 7th.

• Timeline: February 10th - May 2nd, 2025.

• Game: Rocket League.

Learn more by visiting https://www.verizon.com/learning/esports and click “Play Now” to sign up.

Last month, G4C’s Mary Elizabeth Pearson and Brendon Trombley hosted a session at MTS PD Day! During this event, 250 educators explored principles of game design and social impact. The educators learned how to modify familiar games like tic-tac-toe, delve into the Student Challenge social impact themes Outplay Hunger, Nurture Yourself with Nature, Peaceformers Challenge, and more. 🌱

Stay tuned for our next in-person event! 🚀 

• Dive into Astra Logical’s catalog of educational games for the classroom that blend math and the excitement of gaming. 

• Roblox is seeking teenagers to champion digital well-being and civility for their brand-new Roblox Teen Council. Apply by December 6 to make a positive impact. 

• Learn to code through Starstuff, a game where you play as a star engineer coding features for bots; this is the perfect way to introduce your classroom to coding through puzzle solving.

• The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization. Explore their lesson plan for classrooms which focuses on advocating for a world without nuclear weapons.

Do you know educators who would be interested in bringing games and play with the professional support and community of G4C Learn? Share this newsletter with them!