JMS students face seniors in quiz bowl

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Quiz bowl matches on Thursday will pit gifted and talented students from Jessieville Middle School against clients of the Area Agency on Aging of West Central Arkansas.

Multiple teams from the middle school and the senior services organization will meet Thursday morning at 9 a.m. in CHI St. Vincent’s McAuley Center, 5010 Highway 7 north. The matches are free and open to the public.

“I think we have a lot of seniors that have a lot to offer,” said Sherial Bradley, director of technology and senior centers for the Area Agency on Aging of West Central Arkansas. “They are very intelligent and I always feel it is positive to have the seniors and the students working together on projects.”

The West Central Arkansas office is developing a quiz bowl team to compete with other senior centers. Bradley reached out to Jessieville High School social studies teacher Alex Bates in the summer after she became GT coordinator for the Jessieville School District.

“Working with the Area Agency on Aging was really helpful because they set up the McAuley Center,” Bates said. “They gave us a calendar of days. I went to my principal and we settled on a day that was good for the school.”

Both sides were enthusiastic about the potential of an intergenerational activity involving students and seniors. Bates said the Area Agency was a beneficial partner in organizing the exercise.

“We decided on the middle school, which is grades 6-8, to compete because it had the element of, ‘Are you smarter than a fifth grader?’ It upped the competition,” Bates said.

“I think the seniors can be mentors for life lessons to the students,” Bradley said. “The students can bring youth and vitality to the program.

“We would like to do more partnerships with our local school districts. This is our first step out.”

Bates will act as the proctor and ask questions during the matches. She said she expects to fill at least two full teams from the GT students in grades 6-8 on the middle school’s quiz bowl team.

“I have had a lot of great response,” Bates said. “The middle-schoolers have been practicing, because they do not want to lose to their elders.”

“I am interested to see how the kids do against their elders,” Bates added. “I have tried to tell them they have been around for a while. They probably know a lot more about certain subjects. That has really motivated them to actually practice, because they are competitive.”