Angels Camp, CA… This past weekend, over 34 students and their team teacher/coach participated in the first-ever fully virtual student event, Battle of the Books. Students and teachers were delighted to have the friendly academic competition when all student events have otherwise come to a halt during the pandemic.

Last year was the first year of the Calaveras County Battle of the Books. The event’s success delighted students and the community. In-person student events have been on hold since the shut-down last March. Battle of the Books was transformed to accommodate a virtual environment, which proved to be worth the effort.

Four teams from three Calaveras schools gathered virtually to compete in this event. Each team consisted of 6^th through 8^th graders who had all collectively read the same set of 20 books. Memory and collaboration lent teams to successfully answer four rounds of 27questions each to determine the winner of the event.  Teams were put in breakout rooms to collaborate answering the questions through the “Kahoot!” platform.

The winning team, named the ‘Nifflers’, are students from Avery Middle School. Second place winners consisted of a team from San Andreas Middle School, their team was called ‘Read’alorians. In third place was the Mountain Oaks Charter School team, adequately dubbed the ‘Mighty Oaks’. The 4^th place winners are the ‘Titans of Text’, the second team from Avery Middle School.

Adjusting for the virtual format required ingenuity. “With the help of the Clint Close, Calaveras County Office of Education (CCOE) Technology Director, and Tara Hungerford, Avery Middle School Librarian, the event was one for the history books.” said Debbie Strand, Coordinator of Communications and Student Events for CCOE. “It was a team effort and I am so grateful to have the support and dedication from Clint and Tara to help make this event a success.”

“Calaveras County student events may have faced some challenges this past academic year; however, the determination to keep moving forward through innovation is very much alive, said Scott Nanik, Superintendent of Schools. “It was delightful to see all those happy faces (virtually) and listen to the students recall facts from the books they read.”

This year’s student events are made possible through donations from the Calaveras Community Foundation, Bank of Stockton, and the Calaveras County Office of Education. For more information please visit www.ccoe.k12.ca.us/studentevents/.