A clean sweep: ICS Addis takes gold across all divisions at third annual Battle of the Books
A clean sweep: ICS Addis takes gold across all divisions at third annual Battle of the Books
Waiting on bated breath for the judge to make the final call, a group of students keep a watchful eye on the screen in front of them.
It’s a warm Thursday afternoon on campus and three classrooms are occupied with High School students donning matching t-shirts, exchanging knowing glances, wondering which team will eventually clinch the victory.
After months of preparation, the stakes are high.
More than a dozen students from Grades 9 to 11 participated in this year’s Battle of the Books - a global quiz-style reading competition which tests students’ knowledge on pre-selected books.
The books run the gamut in terms of length and genre, including fiction and non-fiction reads as well graphic novels.
In this year’s High School competition, three ICS Addis teams competed against each other, and as many teams from across Africa.
The tournament culminated in a win for one ICS Addis team and clean sweep across all ICS divisions - Elementary, Middle and High School.
Dedicated students from ICS Addis, ICS Abidjan, IST Tanzania and AISM Mozambique showcased their critical thinking and attention to detail as they carefully answered questions relating to the plot, characters and themes from any of the 15 books.
All three ICS Addis teams advanced to the semi-finals, with a nail-biting final round which saw ICS Addis 1 take the win.
“It made me get out of my reading comfort zone, I’ve always loved reading and due to this, my love had really grown, ICS Addis 1 member Rediet A. said.
“My team has been working hard… I’m just so proud of everyone, and I feel much more connected to them.”
“It’s amazing, this is our first time doing that across all three divisions… I just think it really shows that we’ve got kids who are willing to join in and do something unique and who are willing to work hard and learn and read different things outside of their typical genres,” Head Librarian and Battle of the Books Organizer Anne Harris said.
“It’s definitely a big win and we’ll have a lot to live up to next year.”
A team effort
Beyond the competition and nurturing a passion for reading, Battle of the Books teaches students the importance of collaboration, goal setting and honoring commitments, Ms Harris said.
“One of the things that I love about it is that it is an opportunity to have a competition and learn about things like winning well and losing well, and how to be a leader, or how to hold back in a team … it teaches all of those skills that would be typical of more of an athletic situation...”
“… But not everybody is an athlete, so I love that it allows people who want to be competitive but aren’t necessarily athletic, to have an opportunity to do that in a different realm.”
As the rounds progressed throughout the afternoon, ICS Addis teams faced stiff competition, but ultimately came out on top through teamwork, careful consideration and a passion for the tournament.
With each question, teams were given 10 seconds to deliberate - the students would huddle while offering possible answers to each other in hushed tones, before delivering their final response.
For many students, the experience fostered a sense of community, as they learned to rely on each other’s strengths to advance to the next round.
Returning participant Meklit M. said she enjoyed practice sessions with her team in the lead up to the big day.
“It’s just really fun. I love reading and Battle of the Books makes you force yourself to make time to read,” she reflected.
Coach Joshua Smalley said the competition highlighted the importance of teamwork.
“It’s in the moment itself where the pressure is on, and that timer is in the back of your ear…”
“… you know you’ve got to negotiate something even though there might be a disagreement among your team members and so it’s beautiful to see them work this out question after question as a team.”
Echoing Mr Smalley’s sentiments, Rediet A. said being a part of her team gave her a sense of belonging and taught her the importance of finding the balance between trusting her instincts and trusting her team members.
“That’s something that’s really important in Battle of the Books because everyone may have different answers … it’s really important to develop that trust because it really builds up the team, that’s the foundation of a really good team,” she said.
Fresh off the heels of her team’s win, the 10th grader said the win reflects their efforts and she can’t wait to come back next year.
“Since we put such a big sacrifice into it, it just makes it much better that we won.”
One word she would use to describe the competition?
“Victorious,” she said with a smile.
Congratulations to all our students!