Knowledge Bowl team offers fun & challenge

By Dakota Williams

March 31 update:

March 27th, League Championship Tournament:
After a backbreaking Written and Oral Round 1, Henkle B was in 6th place and to go against the 4th and 5th placed teams (Hockinson A and View Ridge A, respectively) for the Oral Round 2. (All Henkle teams were in the top ten by this time and would stay there all night.) Then, after winning their Oral Round 2, Henkle B had earned enough total points to get into the Power Round against View Ridge B, (the "super" team, from the "super" school,) and Castle Rock A. Question after question Henkle B answered, with few mistakes. After the last question, Henkle B was announced the winners of the Power Round!

As team captain of Henkle B, I would like to say we had an awesome season this year, and I think everyone is looking forward to the 2009 season, whether it be at Henkle or at Columbia High. I am very proud of my team and would like to congratulate them. Emma, Andrew, Seth, Scott, and Isabel: great job and good luck next year!

Knowledge Bowl is an excellent learning experience for Henkle Middle School students. It promotes the academically gifted 7th and 8th graders without any sort of discrimination. Each school has three teams: A, B, and C. The HMS team B placed first in our first two meets, and our school was, until last night, undefeated. All three of View Ridge’s teams did really well, and will be hard competition at the tournament. The league championship meet takes place March 27 at Jemtegaard.

“Knowledge Bowl is a great activity, and I believe everyone should strive to be on a team,” was what Jacob Parsons, an eighth grader, had to say. He also commented that Knowledge Bowl could help some students with self esteem issues and with using team work. “Mr. Hannigan (the Knowledge Bowl coach) is my favorite teacher. He’s just so cool.”

Original article:
“When I think Knowledge Bowl, I think success,” is what another Knowledge Bowl student, Isabel Martin, 7th grade, remarked. She also believes it could boost self esteem and could help with some "trivia knowledge." The only thing she would change about Knowledge Bowl is to get rid of some of the outdated facts and maybe add a little modern pop culture.

When asked about our undefeated winning streak, Brier simply said, “We kill them.” Brier thinks Henkle is a good host to the other schools, and Mr. Hannigan is a "good, funny teacher." He believes Henkle could win the League Tournament and once again take home gold.