Rosewood survives the Battle of the Books
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 25, 2004 2:04 PM
Students from nine middle schools spent most of Wednesday being quizzed on their knowledge of books.
But only one school's team, Rosewood Middle, captured the title of Battle of the Books champion.
Greenwood Middle School came in second place. The annual countywide Battle of the Books event was held at Wayne Community College.
News-Argus/Phyllis Moore
Rosewood Middle School students ponder a question during the "Battle of the Books\" competition Wednesday at Wayne Community College.
Olivia Pierce, executive director for community relations with the school system, served as moderator. Twenty-seven books were selected by a state committee for the sixth- through eighth-graders to read.
Students could divide the number of books read among the team members and were allowed to collaborate to answer the questions.
Middle schools represented were Brogden, Dillard, Eastern Wayne, Goldsboro, Greenwood, Mount Olive, Norwayne, Rosewood and Spring Creek.
Members of Rosewood's winning team were Jillian Casey, Brittnay Duffley, Brittany George, Marina Mayton, Janneke Parrish, Andy Rajski, Crystal Santos, David Templeton, and Zach Tubb. Their coaches were Sandra Jones and Kelly Chinery.
Greenwood team members were Ebony Hagans, Misty Street, Tim Street, Jennifer Coley, Clay Ginn, Brian Heim, Chene Wallace, Andrea Smith, and Ricari Walker. Sissy Newell was the coach.
This was the 18th year for the event. Mrs. Pierce said each school conducted its preliminary competitions differently, with practice sessions and elimination rounds, to come up with a 12-member team.
At the county event, there were 36 games of 12 questions each. Rosewood Middle, the team with the highest cumulative score, will now compete at the regional level on April 2 in Kenansville. The state competition will be held in Greensboro on April 30.
Mrs. Pierce commended the students and the coaches who worked with them.
"It's great," she said. "It gives students an opportunity to focus on reading."