Students from Charles T. Koontz Intermediate took home the grand prize at the regional Western North Carolina Regional Battle of the Books Competition on April 28. As there is not a state competition at this level, these students have achieved the highest level of recognition for their work!
Battle of the Books is a quiz-bowl style competition where students read from a selected list of books and answer questions about them. Initially started for the middle school demographic, it was later expanded to elementary school. Intermediate schools like Koontz fall under the elementary category.
“Battle of the Books is important because it brings students together through reading,” said Ivy Helms, Koontz Title I specialist and coach for the Battle of the Books team. “It encourages students to deeply read books from different genres– some they would never choose themselves– and it cultivates teamwork because students must all do their part to read the books so they can work together to know the answers to the questions on competition day.”
“Battle of the Books is more than just reading books,” said Julie Wimbish, Title I specialist at Koontz and coach for the team. “It exists to encourage and promote literacy, create opportunities to work as a team, and practice self control and public speaking. Their commitment to reading, teamwork, and hard work paid off! As a coach, I was so inspired by this team's dedication to reading and working hard as a team.”
Local author Alan Gratz signed copies of his novel "A League of Seven" that was on the booklist for this year. He gave the team a motivating message prior to the regional competition, helping give them the energy to propel them to their win.