A group of public elementary school students gathered Saturday at Kagman Elementary School to compete for the 1st Annual Bilingual Academic Challenge Bowl.
Tanapag, Koblerville and San Vicente Elementary Schools alternately gathered the highest scores at different grade levels. Rota’s Sinapalo, Saipan’s Oleia, Kagman and Garapan also won first place awards in various categories and grade levels.
Students from William S. Reyes Elementary School were also recognized for placing first runner-up at the grade 4 level in the Carolinian category. Dandan Elementary School won twice in the Chamorro category.
Overall, Tanapag took home the most number of trophies for winning seven times at different grade levels.
The competition is the first of its kind in the Northern Marianas, according to Jess Elameto, Public School System’s bilingual program coordinator.
Elameto said the bilingual challenge is aimed at measuring the knowledge that elementary students have acquired in the field of bilingual education, language and arts, science, history and mathematics.
“We need some kind of a forum like this to allow the students to exercise the knowledge they have acquired,” Elameto said.
Tanapag students emerged as the champions in the Carolinian category for grades 1 and 4 levels.
Koblerville students were the top scorers in the same category for grades 2 and 3 levels.
San Vicente Elementary School was the top winner for the Chamorro category at the grades 2, 4 and 6 levels.
Elameto said the competition last Saturday was the final round. Schools that did not win in the first round no longer competed.
The winning schools were ranked as champions, first runner-ups and second-runner ups so that every school got their own trophy, Elameto said.
Schools competing for different grade levels are given 25 questions ranging from bilingual translation, math, science, arts and history. The highest scorer gets to be the champion.
This year’s judges were Gus Tagabuel, a retired government employee; Pat C. Kapileo and Alice Manglona of the PSS bilingual office; and Mercedes Taisacan of Rota Junior High School.
Frank Kapileo was the moderator.
The students are already looking forward to the next competition next school year.
