WHS Academic League hosts annual Teachers vs Students Quiz Bowl

Students and staff at Washingtonville High School went head to head to test their knowledge during the WHS Academic League’s annual Teachers vs Students Quiz Bowl Match Up. This event not only assessed their skills, but helped students in the club prepare for the county championship against Warwick this month.

Hosting the event was club advisor and math teacher Kenneth Schultz, who facilitated the competition and asked participants questions on a variety of topics including math, science, geography, history, art and literature.

For the quiz bowl, the first team to buzz in had the opportunity to answer the question and earn a point. If they answered incorrectly, the question was up for grabs by the other team.

Questions included:

“This novella by John Steinbeck tells the parable of a pearl diver named Kino who finds a valuable gem that brings tragedy to his family.”

“This French Impressionist painter is famous for his series of 250 oil paintings of Water Lilies from his garden at Giverny.” 

“This strait separates Russia from the United States (Alaska) and connects the Pacific and Arctic oceans.”

“What is the volume of a cylinder with a radius of 3 and a height of 4?”

“This scientific law states that in a closed system, mass is neither created nor destroyed by chemical reactions or physical transformations.”

On the teachers side, there was physical education teacher Daniel Malvey, English teacher Matthew Anastasi, math teacher Jason Brown, science teacher Thomas Gardner and Assistant Principal Robert Shust.  

“I think it's great that there's competitions like that with the teachers and the kids,” Mr. Anastasi, said. “It's a nice way to foster some school spirit, even in a small space outside of the classroom.”

Student participants included Joseph Mullan, Evan Smith, Mukisa Kemmelman, Owen Murphy, Tiernan Dookhie, James Cipriani and Owen Sliwinski.

Last year, the Washingtonville High School Academic League placed third in the county. Outside of the annual quiz bowl, students prepare for competitions by reviewing old academic league questions after school during practice. 

“I think the competitions are just fun, working with a good group of kids,” Joseph said. “We could use new recruits, so please join.”

Students and staff could be seen smiling and laughing throughout the competition, as it isn’t always about who wins, but about having fun. In the end, WHS teachers reigned victorious with a score of 43 points, with students earning a total of 25 points.