Who’s the smartest class in North High? We found out the answer during Thursday’s spirit week activity, as the quiz bowl put every grade to the test. Each year at North High, Thursday’s spirit week day is class shirt day and quiz bowl, causing each grade to prove they are the best.
Class officers of each grade come together to design a shirt in order to unite students and spread creativity across North High. Traditionally seniors are in blue, juniors in green, sophomores in red, and freshmen in yellow.
Each grade’s shirt displayed creativity and school spirit. The freshmen sported Blazer the Goat and read “Freshmen Class of 2027,” while the sophomores went with a more humorous “If you are reading this we are sophomores” design. Juniors chose a Chrome Hearts inspired look, and seniors opted to add the Blazers logo on their shirt as well to really show their school spirit.
“It was really awesome to see everyone wearing their class shirts today, especially since the junior class voted on the Chrome Hearts design together,” junior class president Zach Harounian said. “I’m also really proud of our grade for winning the quiz bowl and coming out on top.”
This year, more students than ever were wearing their class
shirts because for the first time ever, spirit week outfits counted towards early points for Battle of the Classes.
The stage was set today for one of the exciting academic competitions of the year–quiz bowl. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors faced off in a battle of wits, testing their knowledge across numerous subject areas including history, science, literature, mathematics, the arts and current events.
What makes quiz bowl a special event is not only the range of topics, but also the time pressure. Teams only have mere seconds to react on the widest array of topics, with every point gained or lost shaping the momentum of the match.
While the juniors surged ahead early on, the real surprise came from the freshmen, who, although traditionally last, surprised the crowd by answering difficult questions about limits and American history. Pop culture also made its way into the competition, with questions about Charlie XCX’s Brat and Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album keeping the audience invested.
Beyond individual knowledge, strong communication and trust within each team were key factors of success. Each team had their own moments of brilliance, but it was ultimately the juniors–Nathan Zhong, Adrien Sarfati, Ethan Anavim and NiuNiu Kong–who came out victorious.
“Although the seniors didn’t win, it was really nice to hear the crowd cheering for us,” senior Jessica Cao said. “It felt like a nice way to kick off senior year.”
The victorious juniors ultimately won with 365 points, followed by the seniors in second, the freshmen in third, and the sophomores in last with -20 points. Although the competition was fierce, the juniors dominated with an insane lead.
“The junior team this year really played to our strengths and by the first half, we were at a 170 point lead,” junior Niuniu Kong said. “For the past two years we’ve always aimed for first and it’s rewarding to finally see it happen.”
Thursday’s event wasn’t just simply about winning. It was about the celebration of knowledge, teamwork, and healthy academic competition. However, one thing is certain. The rivalry will continue next year, with the underclassmen hungry for their chance to claim the crown.
