Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
Teams of middle school students arrived at Bedford’s John Glenn Middle School on Saturday, April 28 to compete in the the 2018 Middle School Tenacity Challenge, an annual academic competition for teams of 7th and 8th grade Latino and African-American students from urban and suburban middle schools across Massachusetts.
Based on the success of Bedford High School’s Tenacity Challenge and the support of Superintendent Jon Sills, John Glenn Middle School principal Kevin Tracey brought the program to JGMS.
Click this link to see Bedford Snapshot’s photographs from the morning
and this link to see photographs from the afternoon on Facebook
“For me, the Tenacity Challenge is one of the most energizing and inspiring days of the year,” said Tracey. “All of the students go above and beyond in preparation and the performances this year were outstanding. Overall, it was a wonderful, multi-district event to connect students and show off some serious academic prowess.”
“This years’ competition doubled in size from last years’ competition,” added Bedford’s METCO Coordinator Akil Mondesir. “The students showed their Tenacity by displaying and presenting their Leadership Projects, discussing their Literature reports and challenging themselves in the Math Bowl in front of their families, friends’ advisors and teachers who came to cheer them on.”
“Once again, hats off to all of the volunteers whose passion for kids and commitment to equity made for such a successful day,” noted Bedford’s Superintendent of Schools Jon Sills. “I am so proud of the Bedford students, whose leadership projects demonstrated strong social values, creativity, and tenacity.”
The 2018 Middle School Tenacity Challenge included student teams from Bedford and nearby towns:
- Bedford’s John Glenn Middle School teams The Dreamers, Imperium, Boom Chick-a-Pop, Seven Sevenths
- Concord’s Concord Middle School teams Unconcord Warriors, Noble 7
- Newton’s F.A. Day Middle School team The Day Knights were the overall winners
- Newton, Oak Hill Middle School teams Team One, Team Two
- Sudbury, Curtis Middle School team Colorful Curtis
- Wellesley, Wellesley Middle School teams Black-ish, The Reset
Keynote speaker ~ John Matthew Borders, IV
After hours of competition, keynote speaker John Matthew Borders IV brought the day to a rousing close. As the Boston Celtics’ Senior Manager for Community Engagement, Borders was just hours away from watching the team clinch the first of their NBA playoff games against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“As excited as I was about that, I was even more excited to be watching these middle-schoolers compete in today’s Tenacity Challenge. Huge kudos to all who were involved in making this happen especially Akil. It’s an honor to be a part of today’s event and I hope my words inspire those who hear them continue on in their journey.”
An engaging speaker, Borders spoke of learning to be uncomfortable in service of a higher purpose: To move out of a personal comfort zone to become the leader of a STEM club, to take an AP class, to go after anything that will create a successful life. “You’ve got to be willing to put in the work,” he exclaimed, “if you want to get the results.”
Borders had the audience on its feet, declaiming enthusiastic affirmations. Borders led the opening affirmation
- I AM ~ BECAUSE ~ WE ARE
- I WILL ~ LOVE
- I WILL ~ LEARN
- I WILL ~ LEAD
The closing affirmation was led by a student who stepped forward from the audience
- I AM
- WE ARE
- A COMMUNITY
- WE LOVE EACH OTHER
- THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES
- WE GIVE EACH OTHER HELP
- BECAUSE WE ALL NEED IT
- THAT’S WHY WE ARE HERE TODAY
- AND THIS IS WHO WE ARE!
Wrapping Up the Day
Questioned about her role in the Challenge after completing her volunteer stint on Saturday, Bedford’s elementary school coordinator for gifted and talented students Sarah Dorer said, “There is a big team of people who make Tenacity Challenge work, but I’m certainly a cheerleader!”
“Many thanks to all of the spectators and volunteers who showed up on a beautiful Saturday to cheer on our kids at the 2nd Annual Middle School Tenacity Challenge’ concluded Tracey.
“The success of the competition is due to the many adults, who gave time to coach, set-up and break down technology and furniture, serve food, run tables, lead or judge events and just be present. We took plenty of notes to continue to positively evolve the event for next Spring. We look forward to seeing you all there!”
ABOUT THE TENACITY CHALLENGE COMPETITION
The Citizen thanks JGMS Assistant Principal Matt Mehler for the following information about the competition originally posted on the school’s blog:
During the extended period of preparation, students build academic capacity, strengthen intellectual risk-taking, hone leadership skills through an action project, and develop enduring peer and faculty relationships. Each 6-7 member team determined its own division of labor in order to prepare for the three events: Leadership Action Project, Global Voices Literary Analysis, and the Math Quiz Bowl Challenge.
Leadership Action Project
The leadership project focuses on the Tenacity team organizing with other students to mobilize change within the school community. Teams are asked to identify a problem or issue within their school community. Beginning October 1st, Tenacity team members must devise and enact a plan to raise awareness and educate their community on the issue. The issue may be anything of importance to the team; including, but not limited to a social, environmental or political concern. The plan must include action steps to not only raise awareness but also steps that may be taken to address this challenge. It is important to note that not all steps to “solve” or address the issue must be taken prior to the creation of the presentation of the project and the overall purpose is not to “solve” the issue.
Students are required to create a presentation for the day of the Tenacity Challenge. The presentation may be in the form of a 2D or 3D installation, PSA or an artistic mural; however, it must contain:
- A description of and rationale for why the topic was chosen
- A description of what steps were taken to raise awareness and/or address the issue
- A description of the challenges faced during the development and implementation process
- A reflection on what impact was made on the school community and/or school culture as a result of the leadership project. What evidence will show some quantitative or qualitative way to analyze impact?
Global Voices Literature Analysis
Prior to the competition, students should have engaged in a sustained study of one or more books. Choosing from a list of titles, students will compose a creative response, which may be a poem, an original song with lyrics and musical score, letter to a major character, a letter from a major character to a leader or influential person connected to the time or struggle, or an additional scene or sequel event to the story. Student Tenacity Teams selected one of the three books below and then creatively presented the major themes using the stage in our auditorium.
The three literature options in the 2018 Middle School Tenacity Challenge included:
- The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore: Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a few years of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, army officer, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.
- Long Walk to Waterby Linda Sue Park: A Long Walk to Water is a short novel written by Linda Sue Park and published in 2010. It includes the true story of Salva Dut, a part of the Dinka tribe and a Sudanese Lost Boy, and the fictional story of Nya, a young village girl that was a part of the Nuer tribe. Park used this book as a platform to support Dut’s program, Water for South Sudan.
- Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez: Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind. From renowned author Julia Alvarez comes an unforgettable story about adolescence, perseverance, and one girl’s struggle to be free.
Math Quiz Bowl
Math quiz bowl was held in the John Glenn Middle School gym and each team consisted of three members. The team determines the division of responsibilities.
Event Guidelines:
- All teams will compete at the same time and will have an equal opportunity to answer all questions.
- The moderator will read the question.
- After the question is read, teams will have a designated amount of time to answer each question.
- Times will vary depending on the difficulty of the question and the amount of calculation required.
Questions for the quiz bowl will be drawn from the subjects of Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry
Loading ...
