As Mrs. Sharon King prepares for the Scholar Quiz Bowl season, which will take off closer to November, she shares her excitement for the year.

“Last year was a rebuilding year,” Mrs. King said. The many upperclassmen who had used to carry the team are now gone, so the 2013-2014 team consisted of brand new faces. “This year, we all kind of got experience under our belt, so it’s gonna make it even more fun, because the [kids will] all understand the concepts and what we’re doing.”

Mrs. King also anticipates a bigger league this year, meaning the team will get to compete against even more schools as well as meet even more players.

“I noticed that [the coordinators] were sending out messages to Winfield, and they’ve never played with us before last year, Fort Zumwalt South and Orchard Farms joined us, and I believe this year Lutheran South joined [the St. Charles league],” King said.

Having more schools join really adds to the social aspect of the game, which is a big part of the activity. Junior Rachel Nixon will be participating in her second year, and she adores the concept of a tight-knit group of kids. Being on a team of eight is drastically different than many of the other activities offered at FHC.

“It’s really nice because you get to be friends with people on a more personal level, you get to understand not only strengths and weaknesses they have in the game that you’re playing, but also what kind of people they are,” Nixon explained. “You develop more personal relationships.”

Freshman Teegan Winkeler reflects on relationships she had in a similar program, Knowledge Masters Open (KMO), in middle school, and how she expects the high school program to be.

“It’s normally people who have some of the same interests, and so usually you can get along with them and be friends,” Winkeler said.

Along with building friendships, King admires how the students build confidence, as well.

“I have had some students, that when they first come on the team, they are afraid to hit that buzzer. And then later, it’s like, ‘well I knew that answer.’ They were very quiet, very unsure, and now they are some of my strongest team members,” said King.

Winkeler is already planning on being more confident this year in scholar quiz bowl.

“I’m hoping to actually contribute more in high school, because I will know more,” said Winkeler.