Lower School Students Showcase Love of Books in Orange County BOB Tournament

St. Margaret’s teams of grade 4 and grade 5 students took part in the 9th annual South Orange County Battle of the Books Tournament held at St. Margaret’s, with the Tartan teams winning 1st place and 4th place. The final battle to determine the overall winner was so close, the competitors were locked in a nail-biting battle for an extra 13 questions.

 

Battle of the Books, or BOB, is a competition featuring head-to-head matchups with teams answering questions regarding details from books on a 20-title reading list, adding a competitive aspect to reading. Teams received points for answering with the correct title and the correct author.

 

St. Margaret’s hosted the tournament in the Darcy Rice Center for the Arts. There were six schools competing, with a total of 14 competitive teams with 116 participants. There were  28 Lower School students representing St. Margaret’s. Joining St. Margaret’s were students from TVT Community, Mission Basilica School, St. Edward the Confessor Parish School, St. Ann School, and Mission Viejo Christian.

 

The students showcased their exemplary passion for reading books leading up to the tournament. “At the heart of BOB is reading. To be with an auditorium filled with readers, and parents who are raising readers, is exhilarating,” said St. Margaret’s Library teacher Darla Magana. “Our BOBers love the competition of it, but overall they love the books. It is a great way to build relationships through reading.”

 

Mrs. Magana coaches the St. Margaret’s teams alongside Lower School teachers Colleen Beshk and Lauren Johnson. Students in grades 4 and 5 have been reading and preparing for the Battle of the Books tournament from a 20-book reading list since last summer, reading books on the list and reviewing key details from the books at BOB Club meetings throughout the school year.  

 

The students meet with the coaches as a club with book discussions and BOB book games until the end of January, at which time students try out to be on a competitive team.