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Beaver Computing Challenge

Instructions for BCC Supervisors


Before the Challenge

  1. If your school has never participated in any CEMC contests before, you'll need to apply for a CEMC school account before you can order contests for your students.
  2. There are three separate challenges: Grade 5/6, Grade 7/8 and Grade 9/10. Students may participate in at most one Beaver Computing Challenge.
  3. Order the BCC online. You will be asked for the total number of students participating in the challenge - students will choose the grade level they are writing at the start of the contest by clicking on the appropriate, grade-specific button (such as "Grade 7/8 BCC"). Be sure to check that your email address is correctly recorded as the Contest Supervisor email.
  4. Arrange for the challenge to be held during the weeks of the challenge. Each participating student will need access to a web browser connected to the internet.*
  5. Approximately one week before the challenge, a list of userids and passwords will be available in the Contest Material Repository in the Contest Supervisor Portal.
  6. Encourage your students to log in and attempt the practice challenges.
  7. Even closer to the challenge, you will be emailed an additional password that students will need to access the current year's challenge.

Day of the Challenge

  1. We encourage you to provide scrap paper and pens/pencils to students to assist them in solving the problems. Some calculators are permitted.
  2. Explain the format of the challenge:
    • At the Grade 5/6 level, there are 12 multiple-choice questions graded out of a total of 60 marks: 4 questions in Part A worth 6 marks each, 4 questions in Part B worth 5 marks each, and 4 questions in Part C worth 4 marks each.
    • At the Grade 7/8 and 9/10 levels, there are 15 multiple-choice questions graded out of a total of 90 marks: 5 questions in Part A worth 8 marks each, 5 questions in Part B worth 6 marks each, and 5 questions in Part C worth 4 marks each.
    • At all levels, two marks are awarded for not answering a question up to a maximum of 5 unanswered questions at the Grade 5/6 level and a maximum of 6 unanswered questions at the Grade 7/8 and 9/10 levels.
  3. Instruct students to visit the BCC Practice and Live Challenges website and use their userids and passwords to log in. Also give them the additional password needed to access the current year’s challenge.
  4. Ask students to carefully provide their name, grade and gender as instructed.
  5. Inform students that the system will give each of them exactly 45 minutes to answer the questions.
  6. Put forth a “best effort” to maintain the integrity of the contest. For example, try to prevent communication between participants and ensure students work individually.

After the Challenge

  1. Results will be emailed to you approximately one week after the challenge. Certificates of Participation and Certificates of Distinction can be printed using the certificate generator in the Contest Supervisor Portal.
  2. The names of top-scoring students among all those participating in the competition will be posted online.
  3. Solutions will be available online. They will include Connections to Computer Science outlining how the problems are related to computer science and its applications.

*Normally, schools will run the BCC on one of the days during the weeks of the challenge. However, if schools have large enrollment and/or limited space, they may run the challenge on multiple days. Please do your best to limit the interaction between students who have completed the challenge and those that have yet to complete the challenge. The BCC emphasizes participation over competition.