Academic team “is a fun activity, especially for trivia fans,” according to German teacher Mr. Russell Blake. The team has started meetings again as the school year has begun. Blake is the advisor this year, and has been “for 28 years.”
“The academic team allows students to answer questions in a Jeopardy format,” according to Blake. He added that the students answer the questions “covering a wide range of topics.
With meetings “on Thursdays from 2:15 until 3” the team practices “answering questions using a buzzer system,” said Mr. Blake.
Throughout the school year Blake said that “the academic team has a number of competitions against other schools in Harford County.” At the end of the school year the Hawks will participate in “final competition at the end of the year,” he added.
Blake expressed that having more students involved in the academic team would have a “very large increase” on the schools academic records. He added that “members learn a lot even if they do not know the answers” because eventually “they hear the correct answers.”
Finally, Blake said that the team goes “all year long” and “there is no mandatory attendance policy.”
Sophomores Kendall Chandler and Julianna D’Alto both joined the academic team “mid-way through last year.” D’Alto added that the questions they answer are on “everything” and “all categories.” Last year the team traveled to Havre de Grace for a competition according to Chandler.
The team has “lost a lot of people” since last school year because many students from the class of 2023 were members. To boost the popularity of the club Chandler said she plans to “tell people” about the club and she invites people to bring along friends if they are interested in coming to the meetings.
This spring will be the 38th Annual Harford County Academic Tournament according to hcps,org. Back on Saturday, April 23, 2023, the 37th Annual Harford County Academic Tournament took place where Havre de Grace High School took first place. At this event North Harford competed along with Havre de Grace, C. Milton Wright, Fallston, and Harford Tech.
