The Polo Park Middle School Battling Stallions took first place in the 2014 Grand Battle of the Books. A total of 78 teams from 13 middle schools competed in the first round of the Battle of the Books. The Battling Stallions scored high enough to advance to the grand battle.
The Battle of the Books is sponsored by the School District of Palm Beach County and serves to enrich literacy programs. In middle school, it focuses on the 15 Sunshine State Young Reader Award titles for sixth through eighth grades, which are selected by a committee of library media specialists from across Florida.
Team members Katie Schrank, Marley Cannon, Stephen Connor, Marcella Khaliq and Amaya Davis agree that it was a team effort that helped them win. Their strategy was “divide and conquer,” with the team dividing the titles so that each member would become an expert on three of the 15 books.
In addition to being experts on their assigned Sunshine State Young Reader Award novels, three of the members took on the daunting task of reading all 15 books. The team was sponsored by Mrs. Nora Bernstein, Polo Park’s library media specialist, and Ms. Sandra Hruska, who teaches both gifted and regular language arts.
The Battling Stallions brought home the trophy, which will be on display at Polo Park until next year’s Battle of the Books, when it will go to the next winning school. The Battling Stallions already plan on reclaiming the title next year.
ABOVE: Members of the Battling Stallions with their trophy.
