Vanier’s gym lit up with screams and excitement as the 5th annual Battle of the Books took place on Tuesday, January 29.
Battle of the Books saw Grades 3-8 students battling it out using their wits about the books they read in preparation for the competition. The students read up to six books and their knowledge of those books were then tested in the competition which saw schools from the Holy Trinity School Division all participating.
St. Agnes School won in the Grades 3-5 category while St. Michael School won in the Grades 6-8 category. The students did an impressive job at answering the questions, showing off their skills as a result of five months of hard work and dedication.
Daphne Yates, Learning Consultant for Holy Trinity School Division said over 100 students participated this year.
“We had about 125 kids together that participated this year. We changed the format a bit this year so that all students who were part of the Battle of the Books got to be part of battle day. We then take those top competitors and have a final ‘battle-off.’ The new adjustments worked pretty well. We are really happy that every student got to participate this year once they were part of the competition from its initial stages.”
She said students began training for this year’s Battle of the Books in September last year. She thanked the students for their enthusiasm, sponsors for their contributions and the hardworking coaches for their undaunting commitment to the process.
“We want to say a big ‘thank you’ to our sponsors and coaches. This is a huge time commitment for our coaches, and they did a great job with the students. Following this battle, we’ll move right into choosing books for next year’s competition so, this is a big commitment for those involved (a year-long coaching commitment) and we appreciate everyone who makes this possible.”
The students were equally excited to be part of the competition. St. Agnes School winners said they would love to be part of the competition again next year.
“It was awesome. I read all the books. It was a big commitment because we took about five months to prepare but I enjoyed every minute of it even though it was stressful at times,” said Sophie Trzaskowski, who was part of St. Agnes’ winning team.
This year’s sponsors for Battle of the Books were: Moose Jaw Literacy, the Chamber of Commerce, Saskatchewan Festival of Words, and the Moose Jaw Public Library.
