Thirteen students from LMPS (Lakeland Middle Preparatory School) participated in their first-ever “Battle of The Books” completion this school year and won four rounds to take the championship this month.
Melissa Richarde, 5th grade APEX and 6th grade accelerated and standard ELA teacher, and Bethany Christy, library/media specialist, were sponsors for the fifth through eighth grade team members who started preparation in September 2017.
“Over the next five months, they read ten assigned books in multiple genres, wrote summaries, created outlines, developed questions and participated in mock competitions with each other,” said Mrs. Richarde.
They met at school at 7 a.m. and met together during lunch to collaborate and study with the assistance of their sponsors.
Competitions started the first week of February, said Mrs. Richarde, and ended with the championship round earlier this month.
The “Battle” season beganwith 16 middle schools from the Northeast and Southeast areas of Shelby County,” said Mrs. Richarde. “Each competition was an elimination round, only the winner moves on to compete against another winning team.
“LMPS competed through all four rounds knocking out Elmore Park Middle, Appling Middle and Barrett’s Chapel to take the Northeast Region Championship.
“In the fourth and final round, LMPS went head-to-head with the Southeast Region Champions, Lamplighter Montessori School and won with a score of 60-50.”
The team received two trophies for their first season, said Mrs. Richarde. “The first trophy was awarded for winning the Northeast Region. We defeated Elmore Park (at Elmore Park), Appling Middle (at Appling Middle) and Barrett’s Chapel (at LMPS).
“The second trophy was awarded for winning the championship round vs. the Southeast Region winners, Lamplighter Montessori (at Lamplighter).
Those on the team included Ameila Wood, Aida Xue, Kaylee Bacon, Grace Choi, Erinn Sheridan, Emma Sheridan, Conner Smith, Daniel Ravlija, Emily Richarde, Graham Hutchens, Colin Chapman, Aaron Cranstron and Savannah Reynolds.
“It was an exciting year for a new team. We look forward to coming back next year to defend our title as Battle of the Books Middle School Champions.’
LMPS opened in August 2017 and serves students in grades 5-8. Lakeland Elementary School serves K-4. Through an interlocal agreement, Lakeland students attend Arlington High School until a high school is built in Lakeland.
… Photos courtesy of LMPS.
