News and Updates
NEW:
Changes and updates for 2025
Arrival at Kingwood High School
Lunch options
Teacher-to-teacher tips
Tips for Pair Discussion
Houstonfest Scholarships
Scholarships at State
NEW:
Houstonfest history
Contest
promo video #1 (students from one school tell why they
love contest)
Contest promo
video #2 (one student tells why she loves contest)
Contest promo
video #3
(hilarious 2024 State-winning submission from our own Klein Oak High School!)
State promo video contest
Photo gallery
Daily log of changes to
State-qualifier list
Important Dates
on a rolling basis but no later than Wed., Apr. 30, 2025 for payment
during the 2024-2025 school year: submit
Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications.
Mon. Jan. 13, 2025, 4:00 p.m.: Application for
transportation grants from the Houston Saengerbund opens (IF THEY ARE OFFERED AT
ALL; if so, teachers will be sent a
link to a Google Form).
Tue., Jan. 21, 2025, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration
spreadsheet due for regular price of $12/student (payment does not have
to be mailed until 1/27).
Mon., Jan. 27, 2025, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration spreadsheet
due
for late price of $15/student. Deadline to postmark Houstonfest payment.
Sat., Feb. 1, 2025, 9:00 a.m.: Submission of entries in the 7 virtual Houstonfest events due (get link to
Google Form from your teacher).
Tue., Feb. 4, 2025, 11:59 p.m.: Remote
judging of the 7 virtual Houstonfest events ends.
Wed., Feb. 5, 2025, 10:00 p.m.: Houstonfest changes (adds,
drops, substitutions) due. After this point, no more changes will be allowed.
Sat., Feb. 8, 2025:
Houstonfest,
Kingwood High School, Houston.
Fri., Feb. 14, 2025, 11:59 p.m.: State
online registration due for "early bird" price of $12/student (payment does not
have to be mailed until 2/19).
Wed., Feb. 19, 2025, 11:59 p.m.: State
online registration due
for
regular price of
$15/student. Deadline to postmark your State payment.
Sat., Feb. 22, 2025, 9:00 a.m.: Submission of entries in the 7 virtual State events due (get
the link to a
Google Form from your teacher). Also,
Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship and Sandra Dieckman GTHS Memorial
Scholarship
applications due (to submit the application, get the link to a Google
Form from your teacher).
Mon., Feb. 24, 2025, 8:00 p.m.:
Entries in
State promotional video
contest
due to State director.
Tue., Feb. 25, 2025, 11:59 p.m.: Remote
judging of the 7 virtual State events ends.
Sat., Mar. 1, 2025:
Texas State German Contest, Texas State
University, San Marcos.
Sat., Mar. 8, 2025, 11:59 p.m.: Houstonfest Scholarship applications due.
Sun., Mar. 16, 2025: Gail Cope
State Scholarship applications due.
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Rules:
Research Paper
Entry Limit: 2 research
papers per school with 1-2 authors each; if 2 entries are submitted, they must
be by 2 different authors or pairs of authors (i.e., no contestant may work on
more than 1 paper)
Length Limits: minimum 700 words, maximum 1000 words, not including Works Cited
This is a "virtual event." You must submit your entry no later than
1 week before the contest. Specific
instructions for uploading the entry will be published on the contest website
and/or distributed to teachers each year.
Write a research paper in English on an interesting German-Texan
cultural and/or historical topic. The topic should be a little-known person,
family, place, building, business, area, group, settlement, organization,
church, tradition, activity, practice, etc. The paper should contribute to a
greater understanding of German-Texan history and/or culture. The entry must be
typed and double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font and include
proper in-text citation and a Works Cited page, as per MLA (Modern Language
Association) guidelines. Follow the rules in the latest MLA Style Sheet, paying
special attention to rules for entering Internet sources.
Contestants must use a minimum of 3 sources, at least 2 of which must be
non-Internet.
Digitally archived sources originally published in hard copy may be counted
as non-Internet sources. Sources must include both
primary
and secondary sources.
Primary sources are evidence in the form of artifacts, photos, letters,
interviews, music, charts, illustrations, etc. with a direct connection to the
era being studied. They may be personally documented by the contestant(s)
(photos taken, interviews recorded) or found in personal collections, archives,
libraries, museums, etc.
Secondary sources are
documents that discuss or analyze primary sources and topics - primarily other
academic work.
Important:
The entry must be written solely in a Google Doc. The revision history of
the paper will be checked from inception (blank document) to submission. Writing
in/from a different platform and then pasting into a Google Doc will result in
disqualification of the entry. Plagiarism, which may include insufficient
internal citation or Works Cited, as well as AI-generated text will result in
automatic disqualification.
-
Using MLA Style, include your name(s), your school,
the date, and the title of the paper at the top of page 1.
-
To include photographs, other images, and/or audio
materials, add an appendix after the Works Cited page. Images may be pasted
directly into the document. Audio files should be linked, e.g., via a Google
Drive link.
-
Submit the entry
according to the instructions provided in the Google Form for submissions,
which will include BOTH the link* to the Google Doc of the
completed research paper, including the Works Cited and any appendix,
AND a PDF of the document. *When sharing the Google Doc (generating
the link), set the "General access" to "Anyone with the link" and "Editor."
Download critique
sheet.
Read about
scholarships for the winners of the
Research Paper contest at State!
Help with MLA Style:
Purdue University MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Note: Use the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook. If you use online "cheat sheets" that claim to summarize MLA rules, such
as the one linked above, rather than referring to the actual MLA
Handbook, you do so at your own risk. Make sure that any
website you are using is based on the 9th edition from 2021. |
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When is the next Houstonfest?
Saturday,
February 8, 2025 Where
is Houstonfest?
Kingwood High School
2701 Kingwood Dr.
Kingwood, TX 77339
(new location in 2025!)
Link to Texas State German Contest
Texas
State German Contest on Facebook
Texas
State German Contest 40th Anniversary Facebook Group |