Tates Creek, Meadowthorpe take top spots in Academic Challenge

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, November 07, 2011

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Tates Creek team D, primary winner

Tates Creek team D, primary winner

Tates Creek team D, primary winnerTates Creek team D, primary winnerTates Creek team B, primary runner-upTates Creek team B, primary runner-upTates Creek team H, primary 3rd placeTates Creek team H, primary 3rd placeTates Creek team E, primary 4th placeTates Creek team E, primary 4th placeMeadowthorpe team A, intermediate winnerMeadowthorpe team A, intermediate winnerMeadowthorpe team F, intermediate runner-upMeadowthorpe team F, intermediate runner-upRosa Parks team K, intermediate 3rd placeRosa Parks team K, intermediate 3rd place

Final-round tiebreakers in both divisions capped this fall’s Academic Challenge Invitational, which also saw primary brackets added to accommodate growing interest in the day-long elementary school tournament.

 

Tates Creek team D won the primary showdown with three other groups from the same school, and Meadowthorpe team A prevailed in the intermediate division after a three-way playoff.

 

“They’ve been working hard in their classrooms and at practice and working well as teams,” Principal Dee Patrick said, referring to four of her eight Tates Creek groups advancing to the finals. “We’re really proud of them.”

 

Team D finished with 16 of 20 correct answers. Team B took second place in a tiebreaker for knowing that Georgia is the state bordered by South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and the Atlantic Ocean.

 

On the intermediate side, the scores were tied after 20 questions, and it took three more to separate the teams. The final question was to name the art form of making pictures and designs out of colored stone. The answer: Mosaic.

 

Primary finals 
  • 1st place: Tates Creek D (16 points) – Shalavion Howard, Chuck Logsdon, Joey Ilagan and Gareth Watson-Mills.
  • 2nd place: Tates Creek B (15 points) – Tyler Jones, Caeden Lowe, Brandon Saldana, Tharanie Subramaniam and Will Sun.
  • 3rd place: Tates Creek H (14 points) – Hanif Al Barra, Eli Dyer and Frankie Mann.
  • 4th place: Tates Creek E (11 points) – Dalal Eqal, Makhia Hocker, Simon Palmer, Charlie Reynolds, Gabriella Staykova and Joey Vires.
Intermediate finals 
  • 1st place: Meadowthorpe A (14 points) – Emily Tao, Victoria Webb, Trysten Whitlock and Nicole Wong.
  • 2nd place: Meadowthorpe F (13 points) – Ace Canales, Guillermo Hernandez, Maria Hernandez, Gloria Ma and Jacob Styer.
  • 3rd place: Rosa Parks K (12 points) – Alan Luo, Sai Naidu and Caelan Rajan.

More than 2,000 students participated in the Nov. 5 single-elimination tournament, hosted by Bryan Station High School. Kids in grades 2-3 and grades 4-5 worked in small groups to answer questions in all subject areas, and winning teams moved on to the next round.

 

Fayette County Public Schools hosts three of these tournaments a year, culminating in a competition for college scholarships. The next contests are Feb. 4 and March 10.

 

Since 2004, One Community, One Voice initiatives have focused on getting parents more involved in their children’s education. The centerpiece has been the Academic Challenge, which encourages children to embrace education as a worthy endeavor and gives them a chance to compete in rigorous academic contests.

 

All students are welcome to participate, and most schools field several teams. Contact a child’s teacher for details.

 

On the district level, email Alice Nelson for more information.

 

 

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