Caribou Help / FAQ
Please look for your question among the >200 questions in our FAQ before emailing us. Caribou aims to be 100% self-service. This helps keep our services affordable.
To use this Help Tree, choose the appropriate category and subcategories. If you are unable to find your question, use the Contact Us form located in the leaves of this tree. Thank you for your help.
Questions & Answers:
Who can participate?
-
Who can participate?
Answer:
Any school-aged child can participate in Caribou Contests. We offer 7 levels from the K/1 level up to grades 11/12. The competition is online so you can participate from anywhere in the world!
In some countries, it is better to sign up through one of our local partners. To see how you can register, see our Registration Guide.
Do you have to live in Canada to participate?
-
Do you have to live in Canada to participate?
Answer:
No, you don’t have to live in Canada. It is an international online competition: currently (in 2021) we have over 50,000 students participating in over 38 countries!
In some countries, it is better to sign up through one of our local partners. To see how you can register, see our Registration Guide. Or to see if there is a local Caribou Representative in your home country, see About Caribou – Our Team.
Can schools in the Southern Hemisphere participate (eg. Australia)?
-
Can schools in the Southern Hemisphere participate (eg. Australia)?
Answer:
You can definitely participate in Caribou Contests in the Southern Hemisphere. The main difficulty is that the school year is different from the Northern Hemisphere. Here are our recommendations:
- Students should participate in level they were in upon the first October contest of the Cup
- Contests which fall in the summer holiday may be written at home, under the same conditions (no outside help, no communicating, no calculators, and under adult supervision if possible)
- Students should be sent home with a letter for parents explaining how to access the Contests at home and the student’s access code, as well as instructions for how to contact their Caribou Coordinator if any issues occur. If you would like, Contact Us and we will send you a template that can be used.
Bruce starts grade 2 mid-February. Near the end of the school year, he participates in the grade 2 October contest, then the grade 2 December contest. His teacher sends him home with a letter with instructions and his access code so that he can write the grade 2 January contest at home. In February he starts grade 3 at school, but Bruce is still in the grade 2 level for this Caribou Cup, so he writes the February, April, and May contests at the grade 2 level. In October, he starts the grade 3/4 level in the new Caribou Cup.
Eventually, we would like to create a separate Caribou Cup for the Southern Hemisphere, although it is not feasible right now.
How does one participate in the contests?
-
How does one participate in the contests?
Answer:
Please see the Caribou Cup Participation page for a full explanation.
Basically to participate in any Caribou contest you will need :
- A Contest Coordinator to run the contest (usually a teacher, librarian, homeschooling parent or tutoring centre director)
- A place to write the contest (usually a school, homeschool, library, tutoring centre)
- A device with internet access (computers are preferred but tablets and smartphones are also possible)
- A valid Access Code (usually obtained by the Caribou Coordinator / via a purchase in the Online Shop)
It is also possible to participate without a School by registering with the Caribou Virtual School. To do so, when making a purchase in the Online Shop, you must check the box for "No School" rather than selecting a school in the list. You will receive your Access Code and participation instructions along with your purchase confirmation email.
In any case, to participate in the contests each student must come to cariboutests.com on one of the Contest Days (typically a Wednesday or Thursday) within their school’s Contest Time Window. To start the contest, the student must click on the big red START THE CONTEST which appears in the upper-right corner on Contest Days, then sign in with their individual Access Code. The Access Code does not need to be assigned before contest day, it will become associated with the student’s name when they sign in to write their first contest.
How can I check if my school is already registered?
-
How can I check if my school is already registered?
Answer:
To see if your school has already registered with Caribou Contests, check out the Participating Schools page.
If your school is not registered, a teacher, librarian, or administrator can register as a Caribou Coordinator for free here.
Is it too late / too early to register for the next contest?
-
Is it too late / too early to register for the next contest?
Answer:
You can start registering for the current Caribou Cup’s contests on July 1. Afterwards, you can still sign up at any point during the year before the last contest is over (start of May). Yes, you can even sign up on a contest days. Please note, once you have a Caribou Cup valid Access Code, you are registered for all the remaining contests in that Caribou Cup.
It is easiest to register a student last-minute if the Coordinator registered at your school has School Wide Contest Access or it is for a free contest (October all levels or all contests in grades K/1 or grade 2) since the Coordinator merely has to generate new Access Codes for the new students.
If a student wants to participate separately from a school, they simply make a purchase of Contest Participation in our Online Shop.
See our Registration Guide for information tailored to your situation.
Can I start participating after the first contest?
-
Can I start participating after the first contest?
Answer:
Yes, each contest is separate. For every contest there is a separate ranking, and you can download certificates for individual contests from your Student or Coordinator account. The first contest is in October, but you can definitely start to participate later in the year. The only difference to keep in mind is that while the October contest is free, the other 5 (November, January, February, April, May) are not.
Additionally, missing a contest could affect your ranking in the Caribou Cup, which takes into account your best 5 out of 6 contest scores.
Our school doesn’t want to run contests even if parents agree to pay.
-
Our school doesn’t want to run contests even if parents agree to pay.
Answer:
Your child can still participate in the contest. We do prefer that students write the contest in a school or library where they are supervised by a non-parent. No matter where the student is registered and writes the contest, they must be under adult supervision and they must not use the internet, a calculator, or receive help with contest questions in any way. For instructions tailored to your situation, follow the prompts on our Registration Guide or the instructions for Students & Parents on the Caribou Cup Participation page.
Our school wasn’t participating, so we signed up and paid under Caribou Virtual School, but now our school has decided to participate.
-
Our school wasn’t participating, so we signed up and paid under Caribou Virtual School, but now our school has decided to participate.
Answer:
The student can be moved to their school’s Coordinator’s account.
The school Coordinator (usually a teacher) will need the student’s first name, last name, and access code. Then they must sign in as Coordinator and use the tool “Move a Student to my Account”. If you paid for your child’s participation, but your school then purchased School Wide Contest Participation, Contact Us for a refund or to switch your purchase to another item.
Can a parent be a Coordinator?
-
Can a parent be a Coordinator?
Answer:
To maintain fairness we prefer that students be supervised by a non-parent adult like a teacher, tutor, or librarian. For students participating separately from their school, it is possible to register without a school: when purchasing Contest Participation in the Online Shop, select the No School checkbox to register with the Caribou Virtual School. For Home Schools with many students, a parent may sign up to be a Coordinator to run the contest as a Home School. See the Coordinator Registration page for a walkthrough of these options.
Can I as a parent sign up to receive updates on Caribou Contests?
-
Can I as a parent sign up to receive updates on Caribou Contests?
Answer:
Yes, anyone can receive updates and information about upcoming tests. Here are a few ways to receive updates:
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Subscriber List
- Check the Caribou News on the Homepage
We send a reminder to all subscribers a couple weeks before each contest containing important reminders and information about the Interactive and History questions if applicable. Often a second reminder is sent a couple days beforehand.
Please note, it is necessary to resubscribe to this mailing list every Caribou Cup year.
Your Caribou Coordinator (teacher) also receives these updates and can pass the information on to their students.
Can I as a student receive updates and information about upcoming tests?
-
Can I as a student receive updates and information about upcoming tests?
Answer:
Yes, anyone can receive updates and information about upcoming tests. Here are a few ways to receive updates:
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Subscriber List
- Check the Caribou News on the Homepage
At the end of each contest, students are prompted to join the Subscriber List if they would like to receive information about the next contest, but anyone can subscribe via the link above, in the menu under Parents, or in the website footer. We send a reminder to all subscribers a couple weeks before each contest containing important reminders and information about the Interactive and History questions if applicable. Often a second reminder is sent a couple days beforehand.
Please note, it is necessary to re-subscribe to this list every Caribou Cup year.
Your Caribou Coordinator (teacher) also receives these updates and can pass the information on to their students.
How do you make a purchase without a Coordinator account?
-
How do you make a purchase without a Coordinator account?
Answer:
Parents or other third parties can purchase participation for a student rather than the school. For this to be possible, the student’s Caribou Coordinator must have the box ‘Allow Third Party Payments’ checked in their Account Settings.
Making a purchase is easy. Follow these steps:- Make sure the Caribou Coordinator has checked ‘Allow Third Party Payments’ in their Account Settings.
- Make sure you have the Coordinator’s name, school, as well as your child’s access code (if they have one).
- Go to our Online Shop Welcome Page.
- Click on the bottom button 'Make a Purchase / Get an Invoice'
- Identify yourself as a Parent (Someone Else), enter your name and email, and confirm your email.
- For "Do you already have an Invoice Number...?" say 'No'.
- Check the appropriate options (for a student, with or without access code)
- Enter your child’s access code. If they do not have one yet, you will need to enter the names of the child, school, and Coordinator and select the appropriate options. If the student is registering without a school, then check the box for No School to register the student with the Caribou Virtual School. An access code will be generated for your student, visible under their Coordinator’s account and sent in the confirmation email when you have completed the purchase.
- Click on the item you wish to purchase and then Update Cart. Then click on Review Cart.
- Click on 'Check Out / Create Invoice'. Jot down the invoice number.
- Check out and pay using your preferred payment method: credit card / Paypal, Cheque, or E-transfer. Please take note of any instructions that appear for each option. When you click on a credit card option it will open a new window where you can enter your credit card information and then click on 'Pay Now' to process the transaction. If paying by Cheque or E-transfer, the invoice will load once you click on ‘Pay by Selected Method’.
- Once we receive the payment, you should immediately receive the confirmation of your payment at the email address you provided containing the Access Code if applicable. If we will not receive the payment before the contest, please Contact Us so we can lend payment in the meantime.
- The student will appear under their Caribou Coordinator’s account. The Coordinator will also receive an email alert for the payment made with the student’s information that you’ve entered.
- The student’s Caribou Coordinator does not appear on the list. The Coordinator must log in to their account, click on ‘Edit my Account > Allow Third Party Payments > Submit’.
- You choose the wrong Coordinator for your student. See ‘A student has been registered under the wrong teacher’.
- You create an access code for your child, but your child already had one. Now their name is linked to two access codes. See ‘A student wrote two contests this year but with different access codes’.
- You wanted to save proof of payment for your records but forgot/it was too fast. In this case you can contact us and we will send you proof of payment.
- You want your student to register under the Caribou Virtual School and try out the free October contest before investing in paid participation. Free K/1 and grade 2 access codes are available in the Online Shop, for all other grades you will need to register for a free Caribou Coordinator account to obtain free October-only codes..
We are moving. Can our child(ren) continue to participate this school year?
-
We are moving. Can our child(ren) continue to participate this school year?
Answer:
Yes. If possible it is best that the student continue to write the contests in a supervised setting at their new school or another local institution. To transfer their account to the new school, their new Caribou Coordinator will have to sign in and use the tool ‘Move a Student to my Account’ where they will be prompted to enter the student’s first and last name and access code.
If the above is not possible, the student may be allowed to write the contest at home. They must be under adult supervision and they must not use the internet, a calculator, or receive help with contest questions in any way.
In this case the student or their parents should Contact Us so that we can move the student’s account to the Caribou Virtual School.
Can homeschooled children participate?
-
Can homeschooled children participate?
Answer:
Yes, of course they can. If you only have one or two students, it is usually best to register with the Caribou Virtual School. For Home Schools with many students, it may be better to create a Home School and Caribou Coordinator account. For instructions specific to your situation, see the Registration Guide.
I am on the Subscriber List, but I didn’t receive a reminder email for this month’s contest. I want to receive reminder emails.
-
I am on the Subscriber List, but I didn’t receive a reminder email for this month’s contest. I want to receive reminder emails.
Answer:
Each year we email only those who have subscribed recently (since the end of the previous Caribou Cup) to avoid spamming past participants or expired email addresses. Please join the Subscriber List to continue receiving emails.
When is the next contest?
-
When is the next contest?
Answer:
The countdown at the top of our website header counts down until the next contest. To see all contest dates for the current Caribou Cup, you can click on the Upcoming icon on our homepage, or on Contests > Upcoming in the main menu. For general information about the contests, dates, registration, and so on, please visit the Caribou Cup Participation page.
To receive updates about upcoming contests, please consider the following options :
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Email Subscriber List (renewed every year) if you are a Parent/Student or by enabling “Allow Caribou to Contact Me” in your account settings if you are a Coordinator
- Check the Caribou News on the Homepage
I do not receive email reminders for the contests, but I would like to.
-
I do not receive email reminders for the contests, but I would like to.
Answer:
Here are a few ways to receive updates:
- Follow us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Email Subscriber List (for Parents and Students). Reminders are sent two weeks before each contest. Please note this subscription must be renewed every year.
- For Coordinators: in “Edit My Account” enable “Allow Caribou to Contact Me” to receive email reminders 2 weeks before each contest and a couple days before each contest.
- Check the Caribou News on the Homepage
We send a reminder to all subscribers a couple weeks before each contest containing important reminders and information about the Interactive and History questions if applicable. Often a second reminder is sent a couple days beforehand.
Your Caribou Coordinator (teacher) also receives these updates and can pass the information on to their students.
We missed the contest. Can we still write it?
-
We missed the contest. Can we still write it?
Answer:
No, sorry, it is impossible to participate in a missed contest. The last time to start the contest is Thursday 18:30 EST as we release results and answers shortly thereafter.
However, this does not necessarily have an impact on your student's Caribou Cup ranking (see the item How does a missed contest affect cup rankings?). Also, the students can still write the contest as practice; it will appear under Prepare > Previous Tests > Try a Past Contest, and purchase of these past contests can be purchased through our Online Shop.
Did not find the answer?
Contact Us
Contact Us
Güncellemeler için takip edin veya abone olun: