More than 8,000 students between kindergarten and 12th grade are expected to enter the 1996 Electrical Safety Poster Contest that Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. is conducting this fall in public and private schools throughout its 10,000-square-mile service territory.
Posters announcing the contest and furnishing the official rules have been mailed to schools in the 29 counties the utility serves. The deadline for entries is Oct. 31; judging by a panel of teachers and PP&L representatives will be Nov. 13.
"Subscribe to Electrical Safety and Create Your Own Magazine Cover" is the contest theme, stressing the safe use of electricity by creating a magazine cover. The theme was suggested by PP&L's School Energy Education Advisory Council, which is made up of teachers from around the company's service area. Students will reinforce the message that they, their friends and their family should remember to be safe around electricity.
Thirty student winners will be chosen. Three winners (grand-prize, first-place and honorable-mention) will be chosen in 10 grade categories. The categories are: kindergarten and first grade, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th-12th.
Prizes include five shares of PP&L Resources, Inc. stock for grand-prize winners, two shares for first-place winners and one share for honorable-mention winners.
The grand-prize posters will be featured on PP&L's 1997 Electrical Safety Calendar that is distributed to all participating schools.
Each student who enters the contest will receive a certificate of appreciation from PP&L.
Teachers of grand-prize winners will receive $50 from PP&L for instructional materials or supplies.
The company has sponsored safety poster contests since 1986 as part of its "Energy in Education" program to help promote a basic understanding of energy-related issues among young people and to provide a forum for exchanging curriculum ideas among schools.
Contest organizer Lawrence C. Sparta, PP&L's coordinator of Energy Education Programs, said more than 8,000 students submitted posters in 1995.
One of the company's goals is a heightened safety awareness among everyone in its service area -- employees and customers alike.