Currents in Education
YHS teams take the Jeopardy Challenge
By Jennifer L. Saunders
The 10th Annual York High School Jeopardy Challenge was a hit this year, with 12 teams participating and four businesses and organizations donating the $350 entry fee to be sure York High School students had a chance to play. Pictured are three of those students, getting ready to play the game on a team sponsored by York Family Practice.
Courtesy photo
YORK - It was a night to remember as fully one-third of the 12 teams that took part in the 10th Annual York High School Jeopardy Challenge were made up of local students.
Alice Rose of the York High School Academic Boosters Committee said the Feb. 9 event was definitely a success, with four out of the dozen teams being comprised of York High School students, ready to play York's own version of the classic television game for a good cause.
The York High School's Academic Boosters Committee was founded in 1995 for the purpose of enhancing school programs by encouraging and recognizing scholastic achievement in concrete and formal ways. The committee's sole fundraising event is the York High School Jeopardy Challenge.
This year's student teams were sponsored by York Family Practice, Landscape Express, DeStefano and Associates - sponsoring the York Rotary Interact Team - and York Kiwanis, sponsoring the York Key Club.
Other York businesses and organizations that sponsored teams included the Anchorage Inn, York Hospital, Kennebunk Savings Bank, York Rotary Club, York Teacher's Association and first-time sponsor Starkey Ford.
"Defending champions Kennebunk Savings Bank handed the trophy over to York Rotary Club, the 2007 winners," Rose noted.
The second-place team was Albany Techniweave, the only out-of-town sponsor at this year's tournament, fielding a team comprised of parents of local students.
This year's third-place winner was the York Town Hall team.
Each team contributes $350 to play, with all proceeds to sponsor the York High School Academic Banquet at the end of the year. The event honors all sophomores, juniors and seniors who have maintained honor roll status throughout the year. Freshman honor roll students are also rewarded at the end of the year with an ice cream social.
Other academic endeavors funded by the proceeds from Jeopardy Challenge include the York High School Student of the Month Awards and Phoenix Awards, as well as academic scholarships for camps, internships and other educational programs.
For the local event, Alex Trebek was replaced by York's own Mike Harris, a former fourth-grade teacher who now serves as the technology integration specialist for Village and Coastal Ridge Elementary Schools. According to the committee, Harris was "an invaluable help in working out our technology kinks this year."
Local business that donated prizes included The Meat House, Foster's Clam Bake and Ruby's Restaurant.
The Academic Boosters also praised Dr. Alan Hymanson, who donated his winnings of the 50/50 raffle back to the booster club, and Howard Koeppel who "saved the day when we were in desperate need of AA batteries."
