Feature article

Meadowthorpe and Squires teams win Invitational

Article and pictures by Tammy Lane
February 4, 2008

A team from Meadowthorpe Elementary School ran away with the intermediate-level crown in the Academic Challenge Invitational.

  Meadowthorpe B got 19 of 20 questions correct Saturday Feb. 2 in the final round of competition, held at Tates Creek High School. Meadowthorpe C won a tie-breaker 3-2 to edge Veterans Park C for second place. Dixie E came in fourth.   In the primary competition, Squires C took home the blue ribbon with 12 points in the finals. Stonewall C got second place, Maxwell C was third, and Squires A finished fourth.

FAST FACTS
Academic Challenge

• The back story: Since 2004, One Community One Voice has been focused on increasing parents’ involvement in their children’s education. The centerpiece has been the Academic Challenge program.
• Competition format: Three teams square off in a classroom. A moderator reads a question, and the children have 45 seconds to confer and write their team’s answer on a white board. Each round includes 20 questions, and each correct answer is worth a point. The winning team advances to the next round. The top teams eventually meet in the finals.
• Who: Any FCPS student in grades 1-5 may participate on either an Intermediate Team (grades 4 and 5) or a Primary Team (grades l, 2 and 3).
• How: Teams are formed in schools or at neighborhood sites (usually community centers, churches or after-school program locations).
• Limitations: Each team has four to six students. Students may belong to only one team.
• Another opportunity: The On-Demand Writing Academic Challenge Essay Competition is open to fourth- and fifth-graders.

COMPETITION & REWARDS

TEST YOURSELF
Primary practice questions (grades 1, 2, 3)

SCIENCE:

• Groundhogs and bears eat a lot of food in preparation of long winter sleep. What is this “long sleep” called?
• What is the source of practically all heat in the atmosphere?
• Orange juice is high in what vitamin?

SOCIAL STUDIES:

• What does a scale on a map help you measure?
• Which branch of government interprets laws?
• In economic terms, a computer is an example of a what?

ARTS & HUMANITIES:

• In which culture did clogging originate?
• In music, what does the P stand for?
• What do you call a story that has been passed down from one generation to another?

READING:

• The terms “strong” and “weak” are examples of what?
• What term refers to the short retelling of a story or article?
• The “Three Little Pigs” is an example of fiction or non-fiction?

MATH:

• How many yards are in 36 feet?
• What is the set of missing numbers in the series beginning with 3, 5, 7, 9 and ending with 17, 19, 21?
• Cecile has two spheres, a cube and a rectangular prism. How many total faces are on her solids?

SCIENCE:

• Anything that takes up space and has mass is called?
• Which part of a plant absorbs water and dissolves minerals?
• In order to survive, all animals need what?

SOCIAL STUDIES:

• What type of map would you use to locate the Rocky Mountains?
• The fire department, post office and police officers are all examples of what?
• Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

ARTS & HUMANITIES:

• What do you call a printed copy of a play?
• The violin is a member of which instrument family?
• Walking, running, leaping, hopping, galloping and skipping are all examples of what type of movement?

LANGUAGE ARTS:

• The letter or letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word are called what?
• What does it mean to try to convince someone to act or think a certain way?
• What term defines where and when a story takes place?

READING:

• What is the conversation in a play or story called?
• Name the two parts of a basic English sentence.
• Words at the top of a page of a dictionary are called what?

MATH:

• Kim ran for 30 minutes each day for 14 days. How many hours did she run?
• Put this fraction in simplest form: 9/27.
• If you have four different color shirts and three different color pants, how many different outfits can you make?

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