From April 30, 2012, at 8:00 a.m. up until May 29, 2012, at 5:00 p.m.

It consists in motivating students to do some physical activity throughout the month of May, the month of physical education and student sports (MEPSE). The teacher must also enter students’ results under their school’s profile in Planet Cube. Make the most of each day to have fun with your students while encouraging them to be as active as possible.

Students must be active at school and at home to accumulate as many energy cubes as possible (1 energy cube = 15 minutes of physical activity). The ultimate goal: to win a pass for the Grand Prize event in Montreal.

A few examples of eligible activities: soccer, basketball, mini-basketball, jump rope, skateboarding, biking, swimming, diving, relay racing, hiking, ice skating, ball, gymnastics, Frisbee, badminton, flag football, hockey, track and field, tchouk-ball, golfing, judo, skiing, curling, horse-riding, roller-skating, etc. In short, any group or individual activity which requires some physical exercise.

A few examples of ineligible activities: Passive video games, card games, board games, pool, fishing, driving a four-wheeled vehicle, mini-golf, etc. In short, any activity in which you don’t get enough exercise.

No, they're not. All staff members of the school and young people's close relatives (including grandparents, brothers and sisters) are invited to participate in order to improve the school's chances of winning. However, for the energy cubes accumulated to be admissible, the activity must be performed in the company of the participating child. Trainers, sports team members, extended family members (uncles, aunts, godfathers, godmothers, etc.), pets (!) and others cannot accumulate energy cubes. They are, however, welcome to move to encourage students in their challenge.

New* School staff and their immediate family (spouse and children) can now increase their school’s score by accumulating energy cubes at home.

Compilation is notably performed through the participation logbook given to each student, which can be downloaded on our website. Students must enter their sessions of physical activity in the logbook on their own, and have it approved by a parent. An adult’s signature is essential for the exercise session(s) of the child to be admissible for the accumulation of energy cubes.

The logbook is mostly used for activities performed outside school. In school, during P.E. lessons or recess, for instance, the teacher can choose to use their own method to record energy cubes instead of the child’s participation logbook. If they choose to use the participation logbook, they must sign each logbook to validate the exercise sessions that each child has entered.

By participating in the Défi “Moi j’croque” from March 26 to 30, 2012, schools can earn 5 bonus energy cubes, which will be added to their average total per student.

By participating in the 2012 Plaisirs d’hiver initiative, schools will earn 5 bonus energy cubes, which will be added to their average total per student.

Schools that have participated in either of those activities must indicate this on their registration form. The Grand défi will then verify the information and add the bonus cubes to the school’s average number of energy cubes per student at the end of the contest.

• Ideally, each week on Monday morning, throughout the month of May, the classroom teacher should add up the energy cubes that their students recorded over the previous week in their respective participation logbooks.
• The classroom teacher should then communicate this result to the teacher in charge of the project for the school.
• The teacher responsible for the project adds up the results of each class to obtain the overall result of the school, which they then enter under their school’s profile in Planet Cube (deadline May 31, noon).

The more often results are compiled and entered, the easier it is for young people to monitor the progress of the school on the website and to encourage one another to win first place. We believe this can be a great motivational tool for children and their families.

The average number of energy cubes per student makes it possible to compare the results of the participating schools which regularly compile their results online, on a same basis, regardless of the number of students at the school.

The total number of energy cubes accumulated by your school refers to all the energy cubes collected by students throughout the Grand défi.

Kindergarten students can now accumulate energy cubes.

The number of participants refers to the total number of students at your school.

A new feature this year is aimed exclusively at elementary schools: GRAND DÉFI cubes! In November 2011, the Grand défi launched a new competition, Sharpen Your Gray Matter, in which children and families work to earn grey matter cubes by doing 15-minute brain-training activities. The average number of gray matter cubes per student will be added to the average number of energy cubes earned by students in the Get Up and Move contest in May. The total of these two types of cubes are combined into GRAND DÉFI cubes. These new cubes represent the official overall average of cubes per student. On this new basis, schools will earn a corresponding number of entries in the draw for the 2012 Grand Prize.

The draw for the Grand Prize, which will be held in June 2012, will now take into account both gray matter cubes accumulated during November’s Sharpen Your Gray Matter contest and energy cubes accumulated during May’s Get Up and Move physical activity contest. Since the Grand défi now has two components, both types of cubes are combined to form GRAND DÉFI cubes. The final score of these new cubes will determine how many Grand Prize draw entries each school receives.

*Elementary schools can participate in the Get Up and Move contest without being eligible for the Grand Prize draw. Just check off that option in your school’s profile in Planet Cube.

There will be one winning school in each of Quebec’s administrative regions (Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Capitale-Nationale, Mauricie, Estrie, Montréal, Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Nord-du-Québec, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Chaudière-Appalaches, Laval, Lanaudière, Laurentides, Montérégie, Centre-du-Québec). Each of these schools will be selected based on both participation and a random draw, as follows :

In this way, by setting a minimum that is fairly easy to attain, each school has at least one chance of taking part in the draw and to be the regional winner. The more active schools are, the more chances they have of winning.

Participating schools also have the option of taking part in only one of the two components.

In addition, the school with the greatest average number of energy cubes per student across Quebec will be named the Desjardins champion school and will participate in the Grand Prize, along with Pierre Lavoie's Favourite School.

We rely on the honesty of the teachers in charge at each school to communicate their results in a fair and impartial way. Should there be any doubt, the organizers of the Grand défi could ask for a verification in due form.