Opportunities From: Montgomery County Volunteer Center

MCPS High School Assistants Needed for 6th Grade Outdoor Education Program

Many middle schools seek high school volunteers to assist with their Grade 6 Outdoor Education program, and the schools listed on the Google form linked below have asked for assistance in identifying potential assistants to work with them during Outdoor Ed. 

High school assistants who are selected to support a middle school will accompany middle school students and staff to one of the three sites MCPS utilizes for a 3-day, 2-night program and will assist with supervision, instruction, and activities throughout that program. 

There is no cost for high school assistants to participate, meals are provided, and assistants will have dedicated study time each day. High school assistants will need to submit a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian and must also receive permission from their teachers and administrators to participate.

High school assistants can earn up to 16 SSL hours through their work as an Outdoor Education Assistant. 

Please note: By submitting the form below, you are expressing your interest in serving as an Outdoor Education Assistant; it does not indicate that you have been selected to fill that role. Please note that the interest form only lists Outdoor Education sessions for the first few months of the school year and will be updated quarterly.

Your name and contact information will be shared with staff from the middle school(s) you select, and those staff members will contact you to share next steps regarding their selection process.  All decisions on high school assistant selection are made by the staff in each middle school.

If you are interested, please complete and submit this form. 

This form must be completed by MCPS students using their MCPS Gmail accounts.

MCPS students, please DO NOT RESPOND to this opportunity. Instead, please complete and submit this form to express your interest in participating in this opportunity. This form must be completed by MCPS students using their MCPS gmail accounts. 

Back to School Block Party
September 26, 2025
(1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)

The upcoming Back to School Block Party, hosted by Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe, is scheduled for Friday, September 26th from 1-4PM at the BlackRock Center for the Arts.

We are planning this event in partnership with the BlackRock Center and the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, and our goal is to create a fun, safe space for Upcounty youth where they can both hang out with each other and access resources most relevant to them.

We will have food, outdoor games, a small resource fair, student performances, and much more!

There will also be an opportunity to share your voice and earn SSL hours for advocacy.

Students, please DO NOT respond to this opportunity. All students may participate and earn SSL hours by attending and participating: Date:  Friday, September 26, 2024 Time:  1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Location:  Blackrock Center for the Arts
(12901 Town Commons Dr, Germantown, MD 20874)   

ASIRT Road Safety PSA Contest 2025 Deadline: Sunday, October 5, 2025 Calling all MCPS middle and high school students! The Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) and the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association (MCR) are sponsoring a Public Service Announcement (PSA) competition focused on road safety and how to keep yourself and others safe on the roads. Participants who submit a quality PSA that supports the theme, "Step Up for Road Safety," and meets the competition requirements will earn 10 SSL hours and have a chance to win Amazon gift cards.  PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IN FULL.MCPS Students, please DO NOT RESPOND to this opportunity -- all MCPS middle school and high school students may participate in this opportunity by following the directions below: To submit an entry: https://bit.ly/ASIRT2025PSA

 

2025 ASIRT & MCR PSA Contest Information & Guidelines

Who can enter?

Montgomery County Public School middle school and high school students (grades 6-12) 

Students may work independently or in a small team of no more than three.

What is a PSA?

PSA stands for Public Service Announcement. PSAs serve to raise attention and awareness of an issue in effort to change behavior. In this instance, a PSA on road safety is intended to help save lives and prevent injuries. PSAs may include live action dramatizations, animations, and video and audio clips. Music videos with a road safety message are also an option. PSAs are not slide show presentations (like PowerPoint).

Contest Timeline

The contest will be open fromTuesday, July 1 -Sunday, October 5, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

PSA Message

“Step Up for Road Safety” PSA videos should inspire or help road users make safe road choices. The goal is to have zero injuries or deaths on the roads from road crashes. 

Things to think about when creating your PSA video

Road safety impacts pedestrians, drivers, passengers, cyclists, and scooter riders.

How can people keep themselves and others safe on the roads?

What are the road safety challenges on my way to school?

This PSA should influence thinking, action, and change behaviors in order to decrease injuries or deaths from road crashes.

PSAs should highlight at least one important road safety issue such as texting while driving or walking, drink driving, not wearing seatbelts or helmets, or improving safety as you head to or from school. 

Audience for PSA

While everyone can learn from the PSA and change their behaviors to be safer, your video should be geared toward middle and high school students.

Video Recording Requirements and Submission Format

Quality videos MUST:

Be between 45 seconds and one minute in length describing a road safety issue.

Be submitted in the following formats:

YouTube link

.MOV

.MP4 format

***** The link for PSA Videos must be “ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE.”

***** DO NOT use your MCPS Google account as it will not be viewable to all and cannot be reviewed for SSL credit or eligible for the PSA contest prizes. Please upload to a personal Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, or similar program and provide a link to your PSA video. Instructions on how to upload your PSA appear below.

Be original student work created on or after July 1, 2025.

Depict the importance of road safety and can include the message “Step Up for Road Safety.”

Include research (sharing facts on the issue(s), data on impact, safety precautions, etc.) and be edited for proper spelling and grammar. 

For voiceovers and text: Use the term “crash” instead of “accident.” Crashes are preventable while accidents imply no one is responsible for what happens. Be sure to speak slowly and clearly.

Show cyclists wearing helmets and drivers and passengers wearing seat belts if your video includes these examples.

Include interesting pictures, graphics, or video examples.

Include one of the following ASIRT logos:

ASIRT logo with vertical text

ASIRT logo with horizontal text
ASIRT logo without text

Not include offensive or illegal content.

Not include copyrighted, trademarked or branded content. If including music, it must be from a copyright-free resource.*

Close with a slide or document that identifies the name, grade, and school of all video creators. Reminder: You can create your own PSA video or work in a team of no more than 3 people.

* Entrants are prohibited from using copyrighted materials and are encouraged to visit copyright-free music libraries or work with a school or friends’ band or chorus if any background music is needed. 

SSL Expectations

To earn the full 10 SSL hours, the PSA submission must:

Reflect ALL of the requirements listed above.

Identify the name, grade, and school of all video creators. 

(Reminder: You can create your own PSA video or work in a team of no more than 3 people.)

The ASIRT team will review all submissions and identify those who have met all of the submission requirements for SSL credit. MCPS will apply SSL hours to student records by November 30, 2025. No paper forms will be needed. These SSL hours will be mass applied to all student records who qualify with submissions that meet the PSA requirements.

Where do I submit?

To submit an entry:https://bit.ly/ASIRT2025PSA
Remember to discuss the consent section on the submission form with your parent or guardian and provide their contact information.

This form and the contest will close on Sunday, October 5, 2025at 11:59 p.m. 

Before submitting please ensure your video meets all requirements listed above.

(YouTube link, .MOV, .MP4 format)  *Videos must be “ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE." 

*****Do NOT use your MCPS Google account as it will not be viewable to all and cannot be reviewed for SSL credit or eligible for the PSA contest prizes. Please upload to a personal Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, or similar program and provide a link to your PSA video.

YouTube:

Sign into your YouTube account.

In the top right-hand corner, click + Create and then choose Upload video.

The video upload page should appear. 

Click the Select files button or drag and drop your PSA video file to upload it.
Choose Public.

Click Publish.

Google Drive (Use your Personal Google ONLY; DO NOT use your MCPS Google account):

On your computer, go to drive.google.com.

Open or create a folder.

To upload videos, drag them into the Google Drive folder.

Right click on the now uploaded video file, click "Get shareable link", and copy and paste the link in the submission form.

** PLEASE MAKE SURE THE VIDEO CAN BE VIEWED BY OUTSIDE PARTIES.**

** REMEMBER THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SHARE WITH OUTSIDE PARTIES (LIKE ASIRT) FROM AN MCPS STUDENT ACCOUNT, SO PLEASE USE A PERSONAL ACCOUNT**

Dropbox:

Sign in to dropbox.com.