Limestone County Scholar's Bowl

You don’t have to state your answer in the form of a question, but the answers would make Alex Trebek very proud. We are not talking about a new game show, or new reality show, but the Limestone County Scholar’s Bowl Competition. Every spring each school in Limestone County sends a team to compete in the annual Scholar’s Bowl Competition, and it is amazing the amount of knowledge our students display at these competitions.
The questions used in the competition cover many different categories including, but not limited to: pop culture, history, geography, literature, science, and mathematics. On some of the math questions students are given ten seconds, as opposed to the customary five seconds, to come up with the answer and may use pencil and paper. Ten seconds is not enough time for most people to even write down the question much less answer the question, but these contestants are not most people and it is amazing how fast many of the students can solve the math problems.
Limestone County has four divisions of Scholar’s Bowl teams: 4th and 5th grade, 6th grade, Junior High, and High School which compete for the county championship. Each team has a coach who prepares them for the competition by quizzing the team members with sample questions they may encounter at the competition and providing some helpful strategies that might help them compete against the opposing teams. Each team may consist of several students, but only four players may be at the table to field questions from the moderator. Each team member has a “clicker” hooked to a buzzer in front of him and when the students think they know the answer to the question they try to be the first person to buzz in with the correct answer. If students buzz in before the question is complete and give an incorrect answer, the opposing team has the entire question read to them again so buzzing in early is a calculated risk. For example the question may be something like, “This novel highlights the antics of two young boys on the Mississippi River in the mid 1800’s” and the student may buzz in with the answer The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but the remainder of the question might be, “Who is the author is this American classic?”
The competitions use the Alabama Scholastic Competition Association (ASCA) format which includes multiple rounds using a variety of questioning formats. For example, round two consists of a toss-up question that is available to members of both teams, followed by a bonus round only offered to the team that correctly answered the toss-up question. Round three is actually a “worksheet round” in which both teams are given twenty identical questions and two minutes to write their answers on the sheet. All six members of the team may help with the worksheet round, and these members must work together using their collective abilities and strengths to come up with the correct answers. This round is really something incredible to watch as most teams split up the questions and then at the last minute write the answers on the final answer document with just enough time to spare.
Two schools compete against each other in each match, but the members are not only competing as part of a team, but each person that answers a question also earns individual points that will be used to recognize the high individual scorer. At the end of the high school competition, the high scorers from the day’s competition compete against each other for the honor of being named the high individual scorer for the county. This round consists of thirty toss-up questions and the person earning the most points is awarded the honor of high scorer for the county.
The students of Limestone County are very impressive and perhaps no other event highlights the knowledge of our students like the Scholar’s Bowl Competitions. To win the competition takes team work, strategy, and above all an incredible amount of knowledge on the part of the students. It is very difficult to prepare for the competition so a lifestyle of reading and curiosity is what it takes to be successful in this competition. If you ever get a chance to come out and watch a Scholar’s Bowl even,t it is worth the time you will spend.
The great thing about all extracurricular events is that they give students a chance to succeed in whatever endeavor is of interest to them. Very few people are good at everything but everyone is good at something. When students have an activity that connects them to the school, they are more likely to be interested and succeed. The Scholar’s Bowl Competition is an excellent way to help nurture the love of learning in our students and we are fortunate in Limestone County to have such wonderful programs like the Scholar’s Bowl Competition.

ACCESS Teacher

I have included a link about a local teacher that is up for an award on a national televeision show. This teacher teaches at Boaz, but she is one of the teachers our students take in their ACCESS classes. Quality teachers from around the state teach on-line courses which our students have an opportunity to take via the ACCESS program. Click here for the article.

FFA/FCCLA Field Day

Students that are members of FFA or FCCLA are having their annual Field Day on Thursday, May 12, 2011. This is a long standing tradition at Ardmore High School that began many years ago. The field day gives the students an opportunity to have a little "agricultural fun" and to be rewarded for their hard work throughout the year. This provides many of our students a connection to an organization that helps make school just a little more enjoyable. Research has shown that students that feel "connected" to the school are much more likely to graduate high school. A special thanks to Ms. Susan Miller and Ms. Lauren Graham for making this day possible.

Make-up Days

Limestone County Schools appealed for "Relief" from making up days to Dr. Morton on Friday of last week. We received his response and he has approved our request and we DO NOT have to make up days missed. It truly is a "relief" for us to not have to re-schedule days. I am very appreciative to Dr. Carroll, Dr. Morton, Gov. Bentley and the Alabama Legislature for their quick and reasonable decisions in this matter.

Disaster Relief

Ardmore High School students participated in a special day to distribute yearbooks and raise money for disaster relief. Yearbooks were distributed on the football field and students were given time to browse and sign their new yearbooks. Music was played over the loudspeaker and refreshments were served. The total numbers are not in, but through the generosity of Ardmore students, over $1,300 was raised to help those suffering from the disaster.

Ardmore Family

Our area has been devastated by the storms that came through last week. This has been a very trying time for everyone and slowly, people are beginning to recover from a variety of personal tragedies. Although the scars will be with us for years, we will get through this extremely hard time. If you have needs please let us know and we will try and get you help. The Ardmore Family is very resilient and will pull through this tragedy even stronger than before.

Alert Now Message for Wednesday May 4, 2011

This is Barry Carroll, superintendent of the Limestone County Schools. Although we continue to have issues related to the tornado damage, the Limestone County Schools will re-open on Thursday, May 5. We understand that some families, especially those in the East Limestone, Creekside and Tanner communities still face adverse conditions and we will work with you in every way possible to assist you with your needs.

We still do not have power at Creekside Elementary School. Additionally, we have been informed that Nick Davis Road, Capshaw Road and Sanderson Road may be closed tomorrow for utility repairs, therefore, we may not be able to open Creekside Elementary tomorrow. Parents of the students who attend Creekside will be contact by 7:00 p.m. tonight with an update on the status of Creekside.

We also have issues with buses being able to access areas in the East, Creekside and Tanner communities. If our bus drivers cannot drive on roads on their normal routes, they will be instructed to skip those areas and parents will have to bring their children to school.

Again we want to Thank the many people who have reached out to the families in need in our community. Although our hearts have been broken, we must come together and move our schools and communities forward in a positive, productive manner. As our motto states, “We are a school system, not a system of schools; we are a TEAM, we are a family.” The Limestone County family has certainly come together in this crisis and we will continue to do so in the days and weeks to come.

Thank you for your patience and assistance during these difficult times. We ask that you continue to be patient with us as we return to our schools tomorrow. Please continue to pray for those who have been impacted by the storms and for those who continue to work hard to restore utilities to our homes, schools and communities.