American Computer Science League

Newsletter #3

March 2007

CONTEST #3

Now that Contest #3 is complete, the process of inviting teams to the All-Star Contest begins. Most high scoring teams will be invited based upon the results of Contest #3. This is done to give teams more time to plan the trip to Texas. Those teams close to be invited but are grouped closely to other teams near the cutoff score will be invited after Contest #4. It is very important to submit Contest #4 scores as soon as possible. ACSL must produce trophies and plaques with student and team namesand send them to the All-Star Contest site. We want to insure that every student and team deserving of an award has one presented at the All-Star Contest.

ACSL WEB SITE

The scores for Contest #3 for both teams and individuals are posted on our web site www.acsl.org. . If you note a missing score, an incorrect score or a misspelled name, please contact ACSL and we will make the corrections.

APPEALS

There were no valid appeals in any of the divisions for Contest #1.

STUDENT PROGRAMS

Students, their parents and advisors like to see their student's programs posted to our web site. To insure that a program has a chance for selection, prior to submitting the code for those students who scored a 10, please insure that the following information is in the heading of the code:

· The student’s name

· The school name

· The student’s division

SCORESHEETS

Please use the ACSL scoresheet when submitting scores. Send it as an attached .doc file and not pasted into the body of the e-mail message. The uniformity of score sheets decreases the number of entry errors.

ALL-STAR CONTEST

The site of the 2007 ACSL Invitational All-Star Contest is Taylor HS, 20700 Kingsland Blvd, Katy, TX. The contest date is Saturday, May 26th.

The All-Star Contest starts at 8:30 AM and ends at approximately 5:30 PM. Lunch is provided at the contest site. Breakfast is not available.

The hotel is the Holiday Inn Select Houston I-10 West but at the time of reservations it may change its name to the Crowne Plaza I 10 West.

Schools should contact the hotel reservations department directly at 1-888-252-9879 and identify themselves as being part of the
AMERICAN COMPUTER SCIENCE LEAGUE to get the best rate of $75.00 per room per night plus taxes. Reservations must be guaranteed with a credit card. PLEASE ASK FOR AN EMAIL OR FAX CONFIRMATION OF YOUR RESERVATION FROM THE HOTEL AND MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE IT.

If you run into any problems or have any concerns about the hotel, please call our travel consultant, Elana at Birkmayer Travel. Her phone
number is 518-271-6863 and her email address is travelbyelana@hotmail.com.

This year, Elana has also arranged guaranteed car reservations thru Hertz. Please call Hertz at 1-800-654-3131 or the Hertz website,
www.hertz.com and give the code CV#022Q3175 for the least expensive rates. Hertz will compare our conference rates to every available rate they offer and give you the least expensive one. The conference rates will be available for you.

Also, if your school would like Elana to put together a personalized air quote for you, please, please first check to see if your school will
allow you to purchase air tickets from a travel agency not in your school district. If your school allows this, please contact Elana at 518-271-6863 or travelbyelana@hotmail.com.

For the past 16 years ACSL has used the same travel agent to find the best group rates at hotels close to our Al-Star Contest sites. Elana Glinert has done an excellent job of getting ACSL the best prices available. The staff that runs ACSL has used Elana for personal travel also. If you are in need of a travel agent to assist in any of your All-Star Contest plans, we highly recommend her services.

ALL-STAR CONTEST COMPUTERS

The agreement with Taylor HS only allows for a limited number of computers. The vast majority of those will go to the teams coming from Europe. Teams should plan to supply their own computers this year. Please start planning now to insure that your invited teams will have computers.

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

ACSL has grouped the teams in the various divisions into geographic regions. The purpose of the regions is to create more places where ACSL can award prizes. The highest scoring team in each region will be awarded a plaque. The highest scoring student (s) in each region will also be awarded a plaque. In the event of ties, duplicate awards will be made. Most of the above awards will be presented at the All-Star Contest in May. Plaques will be mailed to those not present.