On April 16, 2019, GHS was one of fourteen different schools from Northwest Indiana that competed at the Indiana Academic Super Bowl Senior Division competition held at Merrillville High School. The theme of this year’s competition was, “The Fertile Crescent”, and students had to answer questions based on the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilization. There were five different teams students could join: social studies, math, English, science, and fine arts. Towards the end of the competition, interdisciplinary questions were asked where a variety of students from each of the five teams answered questions regarding all five subjects. It was a long night filled with friendly competition and advanced knowledge.

All of the schools were organized into separate classes based on their enrollment, and GHS was put into class two. The social studies team, coached by social studies teacher Jim Pickett, placed first in their class with a high score of 16 out of 25 questions. The math team, coached by math teacher Christine Chidichimo, also placed first in their class with a high score of 18 out of 25 questions, as did the science team, coached by retired science teacher Donald Whittemore, with a score of 15 out of 25 questions. The interdisciplinary team came in second with a score of 12 out of 25 questions. The English and fine arts questions proved to be the hardest of the night. The English team, coached by English teacher Kristina Collard, came in fourth place with 7 out of 25 questions, and the fine arts team, coached by math teacher Sarah Cohen, placed fifth with 8 out of 25 questions.

Freshman Cynthia Matos, who is on the English and science team and competed in the interdisciplinary round said, “English felt harder than science overall. Having to memorize specific definitions and stories made it hard to recall a specific story when a question came. In interdisciplinary it didn’t feel much different, but in both science and English I feel I did the best to my abilities.”

Having the ability to remember so many details is one of the skills that students need to excel at when in academic super bowl. They study their materials for months before the competition and hope that their memory serves them well. This has proven to be slightly more difficult for students who are on two academic teams, which is the maximum number of teams students can join. Students also have to be able to work well with their teammates under pressure. Each subject, with the exception of math, gives you questions with only twenty seconds to talk with your teammates and answer.

“Trying to remember the subject matter and the nerves made it harder to remember things. Being unable to recall specific minute details can really get you in the end,” said Matos.

This year has also shown much room for improvement, and excitement for next year’s theme, “The 20’s”. Students have already started to anticipate all of the new things they will learn next time around, as well as the excitement they’ll feel again when competing.

Senior Molly Mills, a captain on the English team and rookie to Indiana Academic Super Bowl, said, “I’m really proud of how our team competed, especially since it consisted of three

freshmen, and it’s my first year. I think next year, after I graduate, the English team will spend even more time practicing so they can really live up to their full potential.”