The students of Northview Elementary School in Valparaiso were excited to celebrate their three championships in the Spell Bowl, Math Bowl, and Science Bowl this year at the state competitions. To honor their victories, the teachers and staff at Northview put together an afternoon at Central Park Plaza on Friday. All of the students ate lunch and clapped on their fellow classmates who competing in the three different bowls.
Winning all three bowls is a first in the state of Indiana, so everyone was proud of the kids as they rode to the event in a fire truck. The children were all smiles as they waved to their parents and classmates from the top of the truck.
Among some of the very hard working students were Zachary Taglia and Payton Gallowitch. Taglia and Gallowitch were both part of the science bowl, and Taglia also competed in the spell bowl.
“This is very exciting! It’s exciting because the teachers put a lot of effort and time into making this celebration and it was something to have fun with,” said Taglia.
“The teachers' high expectations made it even more challenging and fun for us when we won. We were really excited to win,” said Gallowitch.
Behind these hard work kids were teachers that put in a lot of time to coach these kids and prepare them for the competition. They were all happy to dedicate the time and effort into coaching them and thought this event was a great way to celebrate the victories of the children.
“This event is a way of saying thanks to the whole school for their hard work and for establishing an environment where education is important enough so that such success can occur,” said one of the math bowl coaches and 4th grade teacher, Gary Gross.
Northview Elementary prides themselves in being a four star school. Their academics shine as they watch their students become successful in not only the competitions, but as a whole school together.
“We want to celebrate every child’s accomplishments. Every child has a lot of value and these three state championships are something that really stands out. It has never been done in the state of Indiana. We have a lot of kids that have their own personal victories and this is just an out-front victory. We just want this to be symbolic of everything that we try to do,” said Northview principal, Loren Hershberger.
As the kids took to the Central Park Plaza stage to receive their awards, they were honored by the school that is proud of their achievements and surrounded by their classmates clapping and cheering them on. The afternoon was about celebrating enormous victories and uniting as a school to praise their academic efforts.