CONNEAUT — Outside the weather may be cold but inside Conneaut High School competition is heating up. With several competitions being held recently, students are harnessing their competitive spirit while representing Conneaut High School. Several students were recognized as award winners from the American Legion’s Americanism Test; the Academic Challenge team competed in the Ohio Academic Competition; and many band and choir members performed at Ohio District V Solo and Ensemble.
The annual Americanism Test was distributed to all 10th through 12th grade students on Veterans Day. This test is designed to assess students’ knowledge of all levels of government. In January, several students were awarded certificates of recognition. Five of the six top scorers in the county were Conneaut High School students who advanced to the district level. The five students included: Lauren Lebzelter and Benjamin Betteridge, sophomores; Brandi Wheeler, junior; Alexandra Nardo and Tevin Colbert, seniors.
“The test was not hard. I watch a lot of news which helped with some of it,” Betteridge said.
Of the five, Colbert and Nardo plan to pursue a career in government, while the others have much different career objectives.
The Academic Challenge team competed in the Ohio Academic Competition held at Joseph Badger High School on Jan. 9. The team, which includes seniors Arian Pal, Kayla Reardon, Tony Theil, Jessica Hively and Tevin Colbert along with junior Molly Theil, participated in eight rounds against eight schools of which they had never competed against in the past. Two team questions and one toss-up question was asked in 10 categories including: American literature, mathematics and world history. The category rounds were preceded by an alphabet round where students were given questions all starting with the same letter. Finally, there was a lightning round where students had to be quick on the buzzer.
Jeff Applebee, first-year adviser, said he enjoys working with the students outside of the classroom and having fun learning along with them.
Tony Theil said he thoroughly enjoyed the lightning round because the categories were not specifically designated as the prior rounds were. “I feel that it was this variety of inquisitive parameters that allowed me to exercise my vast collection of trivial bits without having to dwell on a subject in which I am not so deft,” said Theil.
The team plans to participate in several upcoming events including the county-wide Scholastic Bowl.
Finally, band and choir students traveled to Warren G. Harding High School for the annual Ohio District V Solo and Ensemble adjudicated contest. Musical compositions are categorized by difficulty with “A” being the hardest and “C” being the easiest. Students are judged on a scale from one to five, one being the best. Students worked hard to prepare for this prestigious musical event.
Senior Lacey Walsh said she spent nearly two months preparing in advance for the competition including many after school practice sessions. Her hard work paid off in the end, earning a one in a class B solo. She was not the only student to receive an outstanding rating. Nine entries were awarded a rating of one; 14 others a two; and eight more received a three.
Government teacher and School Pride Committee adviser, Stephanie Burnett, was very proud of all of the Conneaut High School students who competed. “I think it’s exciting! It illustrates the hard work that students and faculty have put into academics and shows what a great student body we have,” Burnett said.
