A
group of fourth- and fifth-grade Tashua students sacrificed recess once a week
this year to work together as a team to prepare for the 41st annual Knowledge
Master Open academic competition. On March 24th, the team competed via computer
against other schools in the U.S. and abroad to answer 100 challenging questions
from a variety of curriculum areas including History, Current Events, Geography,
Literature, Math, and Science. Coached by Monica Welch, the team was developed
under the direction of Tashua's Academic Excellence Committee with the support
of Trumbull's ACE Foundation.
The Tashua students exhibited
areas of strength in their understanding of Government, Current Events, English
and Fine Arts and found the Geography and World History questions to be most challenging.
The competition's multiple-choice format required that the team quickly agree
to choose the correct final answer from a list of five possible options, with
bonus points being awarded for speed.
Sample Questions Included:
(Answers
below)
30. Base Eight: The octal number 2456 means 6 "ones",
five "eights", 4 "sixty-fours" and 2…..
A. ninety-sixes
B.
three-hundred-twenties
C. one-hundred-ninety-twos
D. five-hundred-and-twelves
E.
one-hundred-twenty-eights
41. Matter: Which statement is true?
A.
Protons are made of atoms
B. Neutrons are made of electrons
C. Electrons
are larger than protons
D. Neutrons are larger than electrons
E. Electrons
are in the nuclei of atoms
62. Empires: At its height, what
empire controlled nearly one-fourth of the world's land?
A. Mayan
B. British
C.
Roman
D. German
E. Persian
(Answers: 30-D, 41-D, 62-B)
Given
the degree of difficulty, Tashua was very pleased to score in the top 50% of all
competitors internationally and to post a score that compared favorably to other
Connecticut teams in Darien and Bristol. A Barrington, Illinois school posted
the first place finish, with strong performances also submitted by schools in
Korea and Singapore.
These Tashua students are now poised to
participate in Madison Middle School's Knowledge Masters club, which has enjoyed
tremendous success at the state and international levels over the years. If you
would like to support Trumbull's Academic Challenge for Excellence (ACE) Foundation,
which focuses on providing K-12 students opportunities to participate in these
and other academic competitions, please visit their website at www.trumbullace.org.
|
| The
Tashua Knowledge Master Team, from left to right, front row: Gina Tarantino, Erin
Welch, Danielle Rice, Max Vaughn, and Reece Sowka. Middle Row: Haleigh McLaughlin,
Kate D'Amato, Nicole Kervin, Jaclyn Cortina, Jessica Oki, and Kaitlin Nealon.
Back Row: Molly Moran, Lauren Knapp, Olivia Cuevas, Cillian Donahue, Anuj Sisodiya,
and Jimmy Donahue. |
