St. Margaret’s teams of grade 4 and grade 5 students took part in the 10th annual South Orange County Battle of the Books Tournament held at St. Margaret’s, with one Tartan team finishing in third place. 

 

Battle of the Books, or BOB, is a competition featuring head-to-head matchups with teams answering questions regarding details from books on a 20-title reading list, adding a competitive aspect to reading. Teams received points for answering with the correct title and the correct author.

 

St. Margaret’s hosted the tournament in the Darcy Rice Center for the Arts. There were seven schools competing including St. Margaret’s, with a total of 115 participants on 16 teams. There were 20 Lower School students representing St. Margaret’s. Joining St. Margaret’s were students from TVT Community, Mission Basilica School, St. Edward the Confessor Parish School, St. Anne School, St. Junipero Serra Catholic School, and Mission Viejo Christian.

 

The students demonstrated an outstanding enthusiasm for reading in the weeks leading up to the tournament. “At its core, BOB is all about reading. Stories let students explore new worlds, ideas, and perspectives, which naturally builds creativity and critical thinking,” said St. Margaret’s Library teacher Darla Magana. “While our BOBers enjoy the thrill of competition, what truly motivates them is discovering that reading is fun, an experience that shapes how they view learning for years to come.”

 

Mrs. Magana coaches the St. Margaret’s teams alongside Lower School teachers Colleen Beshk and Lauren Johnson. Students in grades 4 and 5 have been reading and preparing for the Battle of the Books tournament from a 20-book reading list since last summer, reading books on the list and reviewing key details from the books at BOB Club meetings throughout the school year. According to Mrs. Magana, if students finish all 20 books, they will have read 5,465 pages.

 

The students meet with the coaches as a club with book discussions and BOB book games until the end of January, at which time students try out to be on a competitive team.