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ON THE INSIDE The latest happenings in our area Page 2
November 5, 2015
Riverside’s Scholastic Bowl team knows a lot about a lot by Kim Aquilina
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“The students amaze me every year with their respect, knowledge and maturity levels,” Weidow noted. Amaral told the Triboro Banner that he really enjoys the challenge of competing against other schools. “I clear my mind and avoid being nervous,” Amaral said. “It helps me think better under pressure.” Amaral said he is better in science, but watches “Jeopardy” in his spare time to keep his skills sharp and expand his base of knowl-
edge. Amaral said being on the team is a lot of fun and gave some advice to students just starting on the team. “It’s really hard to study, because the questions are really different from each other, so don’t try to cram information into your brain a few days before [a competition].” If you’ve never seen a scholastic bowl competition, you can watch the scrimmage between Riverside and Scranton on the web at WVIA.org.
In the movies, a scholastic bowl team is sort of like “High School Musical” meets “Jeopardy” meets “Revenge of the Nerds,” but at Riverside High School, there are no rivalries between cliques and no hallway dance numbers with Zac Efron. Zac Efron doesn’t know what he is missing. Riverside’s scholastic bowl team doesn’t just practice before big events — the team’s learning takes place all year. In order to compete in a quiz bowl (think “Jeopardy”), students must be well-rounded and have a large base of knowledge. Kimberly Weidow has been a teacher at Riverside for 11 years and has spent six of those years as the coordinator for the scholastic team. She explained in an email interview with the Triboro Banner how the team is set up. The team is composed of five senior students who study as if they are preparing for the SATs. Students are chosen from the top sections of each class and some are referred by guidance counselors. “We participate in the NEIU Scholastic Scrimmage at WVIA studio and the NEIU Scholastic Bowl,” Weidow said. “The questions come from a variety of areas: math, history, the sciences, sports, current events, literature [and] the arts. All of our students are well rounded in all areas.” NEIU 19 further explained the process on its website: “Teams participate in two competitions to determine who will move on to the semi-finals. The top three teams compete in a final competition and are honored at the annual Scholar of the Year banquet.” From history to current events, between the five teammates, a lot of topics are covered. Matt Amaral, a senior at Riverside and a scholastic team member, said that the hardest questions are sometimes the long ones, Members of Riverside Junior Senior High School’s Scholastic Bowl team, seated: Sazia Nowbut Weidow doesn’t seem disappointed in shin, Aaron Oustrich, Morgann Williams and Matt Amarel. Standing: Rachel Milan. the team’s performance.
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