Charlo wins in scholarly competition
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CHARLO — At the academic bowl last Wednesday, Charlo Middle School Academic Bowl team defeated three other Lake County middle schools in an all day competition.
The academic bowl is a scholarly competition that consists of written and oral exams in history, science, math, logic and English. Teams from Polson, Charlo, St. Ignatius and Ronan Middle Schools competed in the challenging event.
Charlo middle school academic bowl advisor Keith Grebetz was enthusiastic about Charlo’s performance in the competition. Grebetz, who also serves as the school’s drama instructor and English teacher, noted that the event and the participation from all the schools was “pretty impressive.”
Charlo has been practicing daily since November, and qualification for team members consists of a rigorous three-day exam and multiple teacher recommendations.
Ronan advisor Kathy Knapp was also pleased with her team’s performance at the event. Scheduling conflicts prevent the Ronan Middle School from practicing as much as the other schools. Despite this hindrance, Knapp has noted improvements in the team’s attitude.
“We had a number of years where we were continuously at the bottom of the pack,” Knapp said.
However, recently the advisors have been noticing a change in the team’s academic bowl scores and also in the students’ ability to work together.
“Each meet we see significant changes in the behavior of the students,” Knapp said.
Knapp noted that in her students, she sees a tremendous amount of professionalism and cohesiveness in their teamwork — two aspects that she and the other Ronan advisor, Janey Salomon, emphasize in practice.
She also commented on the necessity of teaching the students how to retrieve the information, instead of relying solely on memorizing facts.
At the end of the competition, the teams received certificates and placements, and the young scholars made their way home.
The next scholar bowl competitions will be held on Feb. 10 at Polson Middle School, March 3 at Ronan Middle School and March 23 at St. Ignatius Middle School.
Results:
Charlo: 675
Polson: 532
Ronan: 479
St. Ignatius: 461