-The “Rays of Knowledge” Compete in Quiz Bowl!

by Kelvin B.

(Names from left to right): Coach- Mr. Hanley, Kelvin Brookes, Aisia Crooke, Brendon Samuel, Ingrid Berry, and Olani Belto.(member: Louis Robles is not shown in picture)

On April 10th and 11th, six Kean students competed in an epic battle of wits as teams gathered for the 33rd annual V.I. Territorial Quiz Bowl Competition. Students from six schools challenged each other in a tournament style competition at Palms Court Harbor View Hotel.

V.I. Quiz Bowl is a competition that tests the students on a variety of topics such as mathematics, literature, science, social studies, current events, geography, sports, movies, etc.

At the end of the two days, the St. Croix Country Day School’s “Guy’s Gals and Guys” won with the most points in a double elimination format and took home the trophy. Country Day will also be able to move on to the nationals to compete in even bigger stakes against the stateside students in May. Our school, however, placed last and was the first team to be eliminated.

This competition is important because it showcases the range of knowledge of our local V.I. students. It also helps prepare students for college by teaching them how to research thoroughly and develop good study habits for achievement.

The schools competing this year were C.A.H.S., St. Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix Country Day School, Antilles School , All Saints Cathedral School, and Ivanna Eudora Kean High School.

Colin Hanley, I.E.K.H.S. V.I Quiz Bowl coach, stated, “ We can be a lot better, but we’re slowly picking up the pace. We are improving. It’s tough competition. We aren’t prepared for first or second place. Let’s be realistic. My main objective as coach is to show the community that public school students are smart or even smarter than that of private schools, and our participation in Quiz Bowl has shown that. Study hard, and you can accomplish ANYTHING!” He added that he hoped his team would have finished at least 3rd place.

As for next year’s competition, like all coaches, Mr. Hanley hopes to win. “If the students study, they can do very well. Current events are a major part of Quiz Bowl, so I'm recruiting students from the journalism class to keep up with world affairs.”

At Palms Court, Kean’s “Rays of Knowledge” first battled against St. Croix Country Day School. They put up a fight beating our team. Kean lost, but they went down valiantly, putting up a SMASHING 70 points on the score board! Country Day School, however, ultimately “whupped” Kean with a DAMAGING 100+ points! Down, but not out, Kean took on C.A.H.S. Battling neck, and neck, the team lost against its sister school.

Kean team members sent “Kudos” to Country Day and C.A.H.S., knowing later on they will have tougher opponents from Kean as the “Rays of Knowledge” retaliate in next year’s competition.