Both of Jackson Prep’s Quiz Bowl teams are under new sponsorship. The duties of a sponsor are to host weekly practices, arrange Quiz Bowl competitions, and get students to and from competitions.  Mr. Kevin Robichaux sponsors the Junior High team, and Ms. Alix Zachow sponsors the Senior High team.

Quiz Bowl, also known as Athletic Bowl, is a trivia-based competition designed to test students’ academic and pop-culture know-how. Nationwide, Quiz Bowl has a few variations, which are oriented to specific subjects such as Science Bowl, History Bowl, and Math Bowl as well as several different types of bees.

During a match, students are not allowed to communicate with each other, except on bonuses and 60-second rounds, to avoid cheating. Points are scored when the first student to buzz in correctly answers the question; if the answer is incorrect, one member of the other team can answer.  Students compete in teams of four, and each student can answer and score points for the team. Quiz Bowl matches feature a variety of rounds such as: Toss-up, 60 Seconds, and Stump the Experts.

Quiz Bowl is for competitive students with an academic mindset.  Quiz Bowl competitions offer a variety of awards, such 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams, most individual points scored, and bee awards.  In addition, over 200 colleges offer micro-scholarships of up to 5,400 dollars.

Jackson Prep has two teams. The junior high team is full of energetic 7th, 8th and 9th graders. Mr. Robichaux says that he loves watching kids compete and learn but that his main goal for the Quiz bowl team is to have fun.

The junior high team has competed at Itawamba Agricultural High School, and at Madison Central,  placing second there. Although neither team won, the Quiz Bowlers said they enjoyed the competition and had fun. Selby Ireland and Andrew Banks captain the Freshman team, both 2 year veterans of the junior high Quiz Bowl team.

The senior high team is full of 10th, 11th, 12th graders. The Senior High team hosts practices every Friday morning from 7:30 to 8:05, although Ms. Zachow hopes to move practices to the middle of the day so more students can participate in Quiz Bowl.

During practices, Ms. Zachow moderates two teams of up to eight senior high students sitting in a semicircle, with each being able to score.  senior high students are generally serious, but can be heard making jokes and laughing from the hallway.

When asked what she and most students like most about Quiz bowl, Ms. Zachow said, “The thrill of knowing the answer and getting it right–it’s a really cool feeling. It’s definitely for people who enjoy showing their knowledge and learning new things.”