TJMS Named in Top 10 Overall School in the Junior Division of the Academic Super Bowl Competition

SB All 1Thomas Jefferson Middle School has been named a 2015 Top 10 Overall School in the Junior Division of the Academic Super Bowl competition sponsored by the Indiana Association of School Principals. TJ earned this recognition based on cumulative scores of all 5 rounds of the Junior Academic Super Bowl Area contest held at LaPorte High School on May 2.

The Thomas Jefferson Middle School Academic Super Bowl team placed four squads among the top ten in the state at the Area meet. Seventy-six schools participated in the Class I division, comprised of schools whose student population tops 720. The 2015 study topic was “The Grandeur That Was Rome.”

The Interdisciplinary team, composed of the 4 team captains: Hannah Mitchell, Justin Stowers, Wyatt Boyer, Sydney Vorrier, and math sub McKenna Olson, contemplated their way to a set of blue ribbons at the Area meet, and the team will receive a plaque recognizing its third place tie for state honors.

The English team missed 3 questions on the way to its own set of blue ribbons. Gillian Coultas, Lauren Skadberg, Lily O’Quinn, Shannon McCall and captain Sydney Vorrier correctly answered 22 out of 25 questions covering Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Latin root words, the Aeneid , the writings of Pliny, and advanced literary terms. The English squad tied for fifth place among the 76 Class I contenders statewide.

Social Studies Captain Wyatt Boyer, along with team members Austin Abatie, Carter Walworth, and Lucia Otten accurately answered 20 out of 25 questions about Roman history, culture, and leaders to bring home the red second place ribbons from the Area venue. The team earned seventh place in the state after all Area scores were tabulated.

The Math team, captained by Justin Stowers, solved exponential equations and Roman numeral computations with ease. Zach Rubin, McKenna Olson, and Joe Angert added their expertise to the volume and linear surface area stumpers. Team members emerged from the Area contest bearing a set of blue ribbons, and the squad placed eighth among all Class I schools in the state.

Scientists Charlie Trowbridge, Teresa Nelson, Josh Rappa, and Daniel Hu helped captain Hannah Mitchell navigate volcanoes, planets, and Roman farming methods. Since two teams answered the same number of questions correctly for the second place spot, the scorekeepers used the tie-breaker formula. The Science team won on the third tie-breaker and garnered red second place ribbons for their efforts at the Area meet.

The TJMS Academic Super Bowl team is coached by Linda Kemper (Math), Justin Krenz (Social Studies), Jane Strayer (English), and Doug Wassilak (Science). Thomas Jefferson Middle School will receive a certificate further acknowledging its academic achievement and 2015 Top 10 School status.