North Harford’s very own Academic Team recently competed on CBS’s television show, It’s Academic. Although the team did not do as well as expected, they still worked to get to this point.
Headed by German teacher Mr. Russell Blake,the team usually practices about once a week.
“During practice Mr. Blake asks us questions for different categories and we buzz in and try to answer,” said senior member Ross Jarrar.
Only three of the members were allowed to participate on the television show. These members include Jimmy Foster, senior class president, junior Rachel Celozzi, and junior Tyler Ziegler.
Competing against Hammond High School and Mt. Hebron High School, of Howard County, North Harford came in third place with a score of 280.
The show was taped on October 26 and aired on December 14. Many of the Academic Team members tagged along and watched in the crowd. Jarrar was one of the audience members.
“It was really cool to be in the audience cheering on my team. It was cool to be on an actual television set,” said Jarrar.
Another North Harford team has also been making their mark in competitions. North Harford’s very own Speech and Debate team has been sweeping competitions for the last two years.
The team is lead by senior captains Jeff Mason and Colin Kohler.
“We, as a team, have done very well this season. We have a lot of new people and they all do really well,” said Mason.
The Debate team has no set practices so everything is prepared by team members individually.
Competitions are hosted by teams all over the county and events are judged by teachers/staff members from schools across the county.
“Every team hosts one tournament from around the county,” said Mason.
Nick Giannasca, Katie Bemb, Juliana Giro and Rachael Griffith frequently compete in Reader’s Theater. In this competition the competitors perform a short scene in which they are not allowed to look at each other, only the judges.
“Our team has gotten pretty big over the past few years so it’s good to see people taking an interest in what we do,” said Mason.