Penda Test Prep Palooza: A Bracket-Style Competition

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Penda Test Prep Palooza: A Bracket-Style Competition: Inspired by March Madness, this competition is designed to drive engagement by having classes or grade levels face off in a double-elimination style tournament based on their Penda activity completion and accuracy.

1️⃣ Setting Up the Tournament Bracket

To create the seeding for the bracket, follow these steps:

A. Determine Participation Groups

• Decide if the competition will be class vs. class (within a grade level) or grade vs. grade (school-wide).
• Ideal group size: 8, 16, or 32 teams for a balanced bracket.
• If the number of classes/grades doesn’t fit a standard bracket size, use play-in rounds or give top-performing teams a bye in the first round.

B. Collect Baseline Data for Seeding

Seeding for the bracket can be randomized by drawing class names from a hat and placing them into the bracket in the order they are pulled. Alternatively, the placement can be structured from lowest to highest seed or vice versa, using the School Leaderboard by Class.  The Leaderboard shows total student performance from the beginning of the school year.

2️⃣ Running the Competition

Each week, teams go head-to-head in a Penda challenge round to advance to the next stage.

• Winning Criteria: The class/grade that the masters (80% or higher) the most Penda activities moves on.
• Reporting Results: Display results in a bracket chart in classrooms, a school bulletin board, or digitally (Google Slides, morning announcements, school website, social media, etc.).

3️⃣ Rewards & Incentives

To keep students engaged, offer rewards at each stage:

🏀 Round 1 Winners: Special classroom shout-out & small prize (stickers, dress-down pass, etc.).
🏀 Final Four: Lunch with the principal, classroom banner, or extra recess.
🏆 Championship Winner: Grand prize (pizza party, trophy, school-wide announcement).

4️⃣ Bonus Ideas to Increase Engagement

🔥 "Cinderella Story" Incentive: Lower-seeded teams (#15 or #16) that upset a higher-seeded team get an extra reward.
📢 Weekly Hype Video: Share standings, matchups, and highlights on morning announcements or social media.
👕 "Penda Palooza" Jerseys: Winning class gets to wear special Penda-themed lanyards or shirts.

Penda Palooza Bracket Template (8-Team Example)

How to Track Progress

• Use a whiteboard in the hallway.
• Update Google Slides or Sheets with the winners each week.
• Announce winners during morning announcements.
• Print and display a large poster-style bracket in the hallway. (Sample Bracket and Promo Image below)