NSHA’s 1st Battle of the Books

By Lisa Weinstein, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

The energy in the Old Mill tent was palpable  as the sixth graders arrived for North Shore Hebrew Academy’s first Battle of the Books. With team posters, cheers, and hundreds of pages read, students arrived ready to battle against their classmates. It was a true honor to watch our sixth graders so excited about reading.

Over the past two months, students worked in teams across the grade, to read 10 fiction and nonfiction books. Late yesterday afternoon, the teams came together to battle to showcase their knowledge of the books, and showcase they did! The questions started with the basics — describing a plot point from a text and asking for the corresponding title of the book. As the battle progressed, questions became more difficult and the only answer Ms. Rabinovich, affectionately known as Ms. R by her students, would accept was the exact one! The competition was fierce and until the last few questions, it was unclear who would emerge victorious. After sixty minutes of questions, “The Team,” whose team members included Jeremy D, Asher, Arieh, Val, Ellie, and Liv, were named the winners and received trophies declaring them, “Battle of the Books Champion.”

Following the battle, students were treated to dinner and a birthday treat, sponsored by the Aharon Family in honor of Nili’s 12th birthday. All participants were also surprised with a special favor, a Battle of the Books beach towel, to take with them as they leave for summer vacation in just another few days.

We owe Marina Rabinovich, our sixth grade English teacher, a great deal of gratitude for instilling a deep love of literature and competition in our students, and look forward to the Battle of the Books becoming an annual NSHA middle school tradition.