More Than 400 Students Compete In 2005 Battle Of The Books
March 14, 2005 - More than 400 students representing 26 Wake County Public School System middle schools met in the 2005 Battle of the Books at Southeast Raleigh High Saturday.First place finishers included Ligon in eighth grade, Daniels in seventh grade and Carnage in sixth grade.
Teams of students represented their schools in a quiz bowl-style elimination competition. Eighth graders answered questions based on reading the 2005 North Carolina School Library Media Association list of books, which included Hoot, The Golden Compass and Touching Spirit Bear. Seventh- and sixth-graders read books on WCPSS's own Battle of the Books book list.
The Ligon eighth-grade team included Alex Hammerberg, Danielle Ureta-Spontak, Eli Hornstein, Emily Myers, Kathryne Hawthorne, Saranya Karthhikeyan and media specialist Kimberly Shelton.
The Daniels seventh-grade team included Julia Lukacs, Jessica Sun, Kalli Felix, Lisa D'Costa, Lucy Flanagan, Sneha Gadi, teacher Raleigh Gregory and media specialist Dot Carter.
The Carnage sixth-grade team included Abbie Martschenko, Amanda Williams, Jackie Blaine, Karina McCorkle, Renu Garpure, Verna Sharma, teacher Bonnie Blackburn and media specialist Linda Cearbaugh.
Second place finishers included Apex in eighth grade, Martin in seventh grade and Martin in sixth grade.
The Apex eighth-grade team included Abbi Hallat, Alli Quattlebaum, Amelia Forbes, Kallie Wray, Leslie Ellison, Mackenzie Cannaday, Marian Thomas, Natalie Hellman, Rena Avramidis, Sean Davis, Emily Forbes and Elizabeth Wayne teacher Paul Cummings and media specialist Jill Steele.
The Martin seventh-grade team included Aislinn Seese-Klos, Julie Ma, Madhulika Vulimiri, Rachel Harris, Rida Rayyast, Valerie Chiang and media specialists Jessica Mosley, Janice Edwards and Deborah Pendleton.
The Martin sixth-grade team included Emily Roberts, Lesley Johnson, Marshall Lochbaum, Megan Brown, Shelby Taylor, Yash Agrawal, teacher Cara Greening and media specialists Janice Edwards and Deborah Pendleton.
The Battle of the Books program seeks to encourage reading by all students at the middle school level. Students, regardless of ability, are exposed to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints by prominent authors in the area of young adult literature. The game format creates interest and excitement in reading. Through the fun and excitement of the competition, students improve reading skills, mature in their choices of reading materials, and acquire a broader knowledge base.
Greg Little, WCPSS Middle School English Language Arts Senior Administrator, coordinated the 2005 WCPSS Battle of the Books. A number of school administrators and teachers served as facilitators, judges and scorekeepers. Each school team worked with a teacher and media specialist from their school.
Each student who participated in the competition received a Battle of the Books shirt that was designed by Hannah Chong, a Heritage Middle School student. The News and Observer was sponsor of the 2005 WCPSS Battle of the Books.
The Ligon eighth-grade team now goes on to compete in regional and state competitions.
-wcpss-