FROM STAFF REPORTS

DALLAS – On the weekend of May 9, Thompson Middle School joined 127 of the top middle school scholars bowl teams at the Hyatt Regency DFW for the 2015 Middle School National Championship Tournament to determine who was the best.

Scholars bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students. Scholars Bowl teams use buzzers to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports and popular culture.

The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in all subject areas. Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.

The team consisted of Lauren Cowsar, Simon Schussler, Delaney Williams, Allan Wilson, Isabel Yarbrough, and Carson Youngblood.  The team was coached by Suzanne Lee and Amanda Wilbanks.

Thompson Middle entered as one of the six Alabama teams competing at the national championship after winning its pool at the Russellville Invitation in January. This is the third-straight year TMS has qualified for the national tournament.

The team held multiple fundraisers to offset the costs of attending the national tournament, including a Moe’s night and a TMS invitational tournament, and Alabaster City Schools provided funding to cover all costs not covered by the fundraisers.

Top TMS scorers in the tournament were Isabelle Yarbrough (174) and Simon Schuessler (217) in a field of almost 700 students.

The team works from September to March and consists of both a seventh- and eighth-grade team, but a blended team traveled to nationals. While in Dallas, the students, parents and sponsors visited the Perot Museum of Natural History and Sixth Floor Museum.