25
c
ThE TRIBORO
s
t en
BANNER
S erving Taylor, o ld Forge, M ooSic & S urrounding areaS
Around Town
School News
What’s going on with your favorite student Page 6
Community Calendar
Plan some fun for the family this weekend Page 11
Sports
News about local athletes Page 10
Times-shamrock communiTy newspapers 149 Penn Avenue Scranton, PA 18503 Phone: (570) 348-9185 Fax: (570) 207-3448
triborobanner @timesshamrock.com
thetriborobanner.com
Making History a Game
ON THE INSIDE The latest happenings in our area Page 2
April 28, 2016
Local students create and run competition on local facts by Caitlin West STAFF WRITER
Students will put teams of history aficionados to the test at a game show this weekend at Montage Mountain. The Lackawanna Historical Society will hold its annual “You Live Here, You Should Know This” local history competition Saturday, April 30, at 6 p.m. at Montage Mountain’s Slocum Hollow Bar & Restaurant, 1000 Montage Mountain Road in Scranton. “I think people in general like local history, but I think more people like local history in an entertaining way,” said Mary Ann MoranSavakinus, the historical society’s executive director. “And we do have lectures and programs that are more serious, based on a certain topics. This gives people a way to enjoy history and have fun and learn at the same time.” As in past years, students from Riverside and Valley View high schools created the questions for the “Jeopardy!”-style show that focuses on the county’s people, places and events. The students began their work in October, when they toured the historical society and saw sample questions. They try to be methodical about the planning, Moran-Savakinus said, such as by picking a certain town and finding fun facts about it. “They do a lot of research, and they’re very good at it,” she said of the students. Through their research at the historical society, the students learn a lot about the county’s municipalities, said Shawn Murphy, a Riverside teacher who coordinates that district’s student participation in the game show. He sees them discover what various buildings used to be, and they start to pay attention to the namesakes of places like Weston Field and Albright Memorial Library. “Most importantly, [the game show] gives the students a chance to dive into local history and learn about their roots,” Murphy said. Moran-Savakinus said the students not only learn a little bit about local history but also “go away with a little more pride because they learned something happened here and it
TS_CNG/TRIBORO/PAGES [T01] | 04/27/16
10:33 | CORNELLCHR
Riverside High School students who contributed to the show include, fron left: Riley Gaughan, Kelsey Robinson, Emma Byrne, Brooke Mickavicz, Natalie Sottile and Matt Torrisi.
was important. … They learn kind of the high points of their own hometowns.” The questions the students come up with are interesting, Murphy said. “I learn something new at every meeting through their research, and sometimes we [go] off on conversations about things,” he said. “We’ll go off on a limb, but it’s good that between both school districts we’ll get engaged in a conversation. … And what’s most fulfilling for me is to see that basically it’s coming from their heart when they get involved.” This year’s game show features eight teams, a mix of new contestants and returning competitors, including two former champions — the Azzarelli family and the Keating family. Each of the eight teams will go head-to-head with another in the first round, with winners moving on to the semifinals and then the championship. The competition begins at 6 p.m. when a team led by local author Stephanie Longo will face one from Riverside School District, followed by the Azzarellis versus the Keatings, 6:40 p.m.; Scranton Public Library versus
Scranton City Council, 7:15 p.m.; and state Sen. John Blake’s team versus state Rep. Sid Kavulich’s team, 7:45 p.m. Some students serve as hosts for the game show, and Murphy said “it’s fascinating to see how they take charge of the project once they’re up on stage with the contestants.” “They really take ownership of the project,” he said. “That’s really what it’s all about, because in the end we’re handing down our local history to them.” Moran-Savakinus said this year is particularly exciting because a former student participant will compete on one of the teams. “They not only learn and come away with an appreciation for local history but now they’re starting to come back and show us what [they have] learned,” she said. Admission to the game show is $10; $5 for students, and the audience can buy food and drinks at Slocum Hollow, where the historical society held the game show last year, too. “They’ve got a full restaurant and bar,” Moran-Savakinus said. “So people can enjoy a dinner and drink while they’re watching.”