Green Meadows is 2012 Academic Bee Challenge champion

The five-member team of Green Meadows School was hailed champion of the 17th Annual Academic Bee Challenge for elementary division held last Saturday at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

Monica Aira Usi, Pionnah Rosej Gregorio, Amelito Dalusong Jr., Ezekiel Alfred, and Ashley Reganit topped this year’s competition after besting 40 other students from eight other teams coming from private and public schools.

Sponsored by the Marianas High School National Honor Society, the champion team was awarded individual medals, certificates, and the championship trophy.

Coached by teacher Manuel Castro Jr., this year was the first time Green Meadows bagged the prestigious title after finishing fourth during last year’s competition.

Green Meadows School garnered 320 points for easy, medium, and hard questions all relating to math, science, social studies, and language arts that were all aligned with the Public School System’s curriculum and benchmarks.

According to Castro, the team spent two weeks preparing for the contest. Besides each day’s practice, team members were also asked to do their own self-review at home.

For the coach, the students’ great desire to win and their team spirit brought Green Meadows School to the top.

He shared that the school bagged 8th place when it first joined the event two years ago, while it won fourth place last year before finally bringing home the bacon this year.

Castro lauded the team’s excellent performance and noted the support extended by their families.

Twelve-year-old Monica Aira Usi described her team’s winning as unexpected and was overwhelmed by the turnout.

This year marked her third time in the competition and each year, she said she gained worthwhile experiences and confidence from joining the event. Usi loves math and enjoys reading, factors she believes helped her team win the title this year.

Pionnah Rosej Gregorio, 11, was a first-timer to the contest. With all the preparation that they did, she said the team truly deserves the honor. “It feels great and surreal. We did our best, and we’re very proud.”

Also a first-timer to the competition, Amelito Dalusong Jr. expressed his surprise upon hearing the result. The student said he joined the competition because he needed some extra curricular points. “I’m not expecting this…and I am happy that we made it,” he told Saipan Tribune, describing the whole experience as fun and exciting.

Hailed second best team was William S. Reyes Elementary School, which garnered 315 points in the competition followed by Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary, which recorded 310 points, good for third place.

MHS National Honor Society president Genevieve Gottwald said the competition had a total of 41 questions: 20 easy; 15 medium; and six hard questions involving math, science, social studies, literature, and other academic subjects.

She lauded the participation of nine schools and 45 students from private and public schools in the successful year of academic challenge bowl.

Gottwald said the event is a great preparation for students in their high school where they will be encouraged to participate in numerous academic competitions.

Aside from Green Meadows, WSR, and GTC, other schools that participated in the competition were Grace Christian Academy, Calvary Christian Academy, Kagman Elementary School, Garapan Elementary School, San Vicente Elementary School, and San Antonio Elementary School.