Story provided by Stillwater Public Schools
On Thursday, April 6, Stillwater Junior High School will host its first ever Trivia Challenge Fundraiser to help send the school’s Robotics Team to their world competition. Stillwater residents are invited to assemble teams of four or more to participate in an evening of academic team, or quiz bowl-style trivia to compete for top honors.
“We’re asking teams to make a donation of $80 to the PTO to help fund the team’s trip to VEX VRC World Championship in Dallas, TX at the end of April,” says Robotics Team Sponsor Rebecca Palmatary. “This is the first year the SJHS Robotics program has been competitive, and we have traveled all over Oklahoma winning multiple awards. We have six teams; four of which earned an invitation to the VEX VRC Oklahoma State Championship. At State, we had one team win Tournament Champion and another earn Tournament Finalist, the Excellence Award, and Robot Skills Champion. These awards qualified both teams for Worlds. This prestigious opportunity will be a first for SJHS; however, we want to continue to invest in our robotic program so that we can make this an annual opportunity for our kids.”
SJHS Principal Crystal Szymanski says the evening will begin with a demonstration by the Robotics team at 5:40pm, a review of the rules at 6pm, and with the first matches starting at 6:20pm. Concessions will be open with pizza by the slice, drinks, and snacks throughout the evening.
Szymanski says the questions are designed for adults to have a fun time. “These aren’t the same questions the kids get. You don’t really need to remember all your junior high math classes to succeed at the Trivia Challenge,” according to the principal. SJHS students, staff, and PTO parents will host the event, ask questions, and keep score. “If we have the 20 teams we hope to, each team should get to play at least three matches.”
“If you haven’t participated in an academic bowl-style tournament, it’s teams of four facing off with buzzers to ring in and answer,” says Szymanski. Teams with more than four can take turns subbing in and out. “It’s about knowing a lot of trivia, having a balanced team, and being quick to recall that knowledge. If you’re a fan of Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy, you’d probably enjoy the Trivia Challenge, so please consider signing up to help send some awesome Pioneers to Worlds.”
First through third place teams will receive 3D printed trophies created by SJHS Robotics. Szymanski says she’d welcome awarding prizes too, if local businesses are interested in donating.
Szymanski says if the event is popular, the Junior High would be interested in hosting future Trivia Challenges. “We’d like to make this a regular thing,” she says. “Bring people into our school more often and increase awareness of the awesome things these kids do while highlighting and funding robotics this year and future student experiences in years to come.”
More information and a link to sign up can be found at www.stillwaterschools.com/trivia or by emailing Principal Szymanski at [email protected].
