Fourth and Fifth Graders Shine in Academic Challenge Meets
Last week, Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center (MOESC) was proud to host hundreds of 4th and 5th grade students as they battled it out to be the Academic Challenge champion. Students compete as teams, answering questions about a wide range of topics including literature, fine arts, geography, history, math, and science.
Twenty eight teams from Ashland Christian, Col. Crawford, Crestview, Galion, Lexington, Mansfield City, Northwestern, Plymouth-Shiloh, Shelby Sacred Heart, Mansfield St. Mary's, Mansfield St. Peter's, Shelby, Mansfield City’s Spanish Immersion and Wooster participated in the 5th Grade Academic Challenge on Tuesday, January 28th.
Wooster Team A tied for first with Lexington Team A. Olivia Kelly, Jill Hostetler, Annette Hemming, Dane Kuzma, and Nick Kakanuru comprised Wooster’s team. The Lexington team members were Owen Weiser, Danica Staats, Sylvia Secrist, and Gianna, last name withheld. Team C from Wooster, with Nick Altland, Ethan Shamir, Luke Walenciak, and Adrionna Adams, captured third place.
Twenty six teams from Ashland Christian, Col. Crawford, Crestview, Galion, Lexington Central, Lexington Eastern, Mansfield City, Northwestern, Plymouth-Shiloh, Mansfield St. Peter's, Shelby, Mansfield City’s Spanish Immersion and Wooster Parkview, Wooster Cornerstone, Wooster Kean, and Wooster Melrose participated in the 4th Grade Academic Challenge on Wednesday, January 29th.
Wooster again came away with the victory. Their Melrose team won first place with team members Josiah Sexton, Lincoln Conley, Andrew James, Cayden Kandel, and Ellen Armour. Wooster’s Parkview team with the team of Elijah Dean, Jack Kallio, Liam Van Doorn, and Jules Osborne, won second place.
Leanna Ferreira, Gifted Student Consultant and coordinator of the Academic Challenge meets, said she loves these competitions. “As I was watching the 4th grade students between their first two rounds ever of competition I saw a girl talking to her mom. She could barely contain her excitement as she was jumping up and down say, ‘This is just SO much fun. I can’t wait for this next round to start!’ This is why I enjoy this activity so very much. We are giving students an opportunity to celebrate the academics is a safe, yet competitive nature. It is a place where being “smart” is celebrated in a similar environment to athletics.”
This week MOESC will host the 6th grade competition on Tuesday evening, and 7th and 8th graders on Wednesday evening. All competitions are open for the public to watch.