TOWAMENCIN— As the seven teams of junior English students swept into the brightly lit auditorium, the familiar voice of Mr. Kevin Manero echoing over popular pop songs created a game show-like ambiance for North Penn High School’s 2014 Vocab Bowl, run by the enthusiastic and hardworking Mrs. Ellen McKee.

After spending much time and effort studying their vocab words, students waited in anticipation for their big moment to begin as Mr. Manero began to unravel the rules of the competition. Seven junior English classes of Mrs. McKee, Mrs. Poole, Mr. Smith, Ms. Young and Mrs. Schmidt competed against one another in attempt to acquire the dazzling 2014 Vocab Bowl trophy, not to forget bragging rights.

Two students from each of the seven classes participated in each round, using context clues and their knowledge of vocabulary to choose the two correct words that would complete a sentence. While students were unable to approach their teams for help, they were able to consult with their partner in order to choose the best fitting words like ‘insidious’ and ‘deft’ for each sentence.

The whoops and hollers of classmates created an atmosphere of friendly competition that eventually ended in a record breaking triumph. For the first time in the eight year tradition, Mrs. McKee and Ms. Poole’s second period class impressively answered every single one of the thirty two vocab questions correctly. In addition, two classes tied for second place, and two other classes tied for third place.

Following the team Vocab Bowl was a dance battle, won by Rashaad Newman, and then competition for individuals, allowing students to compete on their own to be crowned as the single vocab champion. Zaheer Razi was crowned as the victor of the individual competition after a series of exciting, single-elimination brawls in which the students quickly had to define words flashed at them by teachers.

Razi was very excited for his victory and enjoyed the event. He acknowledged that while the Vocab Bowl was a great way to wrap up the 2014 school year, the competition is also very effective for preparing students for the SATs, ACTs and other standardized testing.

“I knew most of my words from the quizzes [in class]. This and all of the preparation really help everyone to learn vocab words, so it’s definitely a good thing for students. It’s fun, too,” said Razi.

Mrs. McKee, the mastermind behind the event, definitely agrees that the Bowl is a fantastic way to prepare for standardized testing. Much preparation is required every year to make sure that students have strong vocab skill to utilize in the Vocab Bowl and more importantly, any standardized test.

“The preparation is the best part,” said Mrs. McKee. “The preparation is when we teach kids who need to learn seventy words. They have to know every single one.”

The English classes usually begin to prepare for the Vocab Bowl in class two weeks prior to the bowl itself, utilizing traditional flashcards and more modern study methods such as the game ‘Kahoot,’ a multiple choice digital study tool in which each student may use a remote to choose his or her answer to master the new vocabulary.

“[The students] write lists of the words, use them in sentences, drill each other, practice at home, and have tests. We really do everything we can to prepare them,” said Mrs. McKee.

The preparation seemed to be quite effective given the record-breaking results.

“This year we actually had our biggest group,” Mrs. McKee pointed out. “It’s usually easier to do this when we have a small group, so we were surprised that we had a perfect score for the first time this year, and ties for second and third as well, with such a big group.”

“I think this was our best year,” enthused Mrs. Poole, one of the other teachers who helped Mrs. McKee’s Vocab Bowl go so smoothly. “The kids had more fun than normal.”

The enthusiasm among the crowds showed that students were undoubtedly having fun. Students cheered for one another during the Vocab Bowl, the trivia questions, and the dance competition.

“We had the kids choose the music this year, and I think that really keeps the energy going,” agreed Mrs. McKee. “But I think the best part is when kids say, ‘this is even better than we thought it was going to be.’ When we see that every kid has his or her hand up to answer a trivia question, and they fall all over each other to answer them, and they’re high fiving themselves when they answer questions right and doing that little strut back to their seat—that’s what we love, seeing them having fun in school. That’s the best part.”

Of course, the event required tons of preparation besides that of the participating students. Mrs. McKee, Mrs. Poole, and the other English teachers are all very grateful for the help of emcee Mr. Manero, who kept tons of energy flowing through the crowds with his lively spirit and bonus questions. Some students were especially excited to receive Wawa gift cards from Mr. Manero as prizes for correctly answering bonus questions and having their names drawn during raffles.

In addition, Mrs. McKee showed special appreciation to the tech team—Mr. Gillmer, Mr. Doerr, and Mr. Wierman—“who made the whole thing happen,” according to Mrs. McKee, in addition to Mr. Lanetti, the head of maintenance who set everything up for the Bowl.

Mrs. McKee also wanted to thank Mrs. Keefer, the art teacher who lent her art easels to hold the gleaming golden letters that spelt out ‘Vocab Bowl.’
The students who participated along with all those who helped make the event happen appreciate the attendance of Principal Burton Hynes, Superintendent Curt Dietrich, and students and teachers from other departments.