Tag Archive for: pre-college and youth programs

Scavenger Hunt contestants at SOU Ashland

SOU Scavenger Hunt teaches academic skills to pre-college youth

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Middle and high school students from across the southern Oregon region recently competed in the annual Scavenger Hunt event held by SOU’s Office of Youth Programs. Scavenger Hunt is a three-day academic “hunt,” in which students search for answers to clues provided by the hunt’s director, Jim Impara. Answers to the dozens of questions provided are found through research on the internet or in local community settings.

The following week, the students gather for a one-day adjudication portion on the SOU campus. Students defend their answers during the adjudication, and argue against their competitors’ findings in front of a moderator and adjudication judges. To earn points from their competitors, students must show proof of their evidence through detailed research and proper citations. Students can rebut the findings of opponents in other schools by respectfully articulating why they should earn more points based on their own evidence.

Students participating in the Scavenger Hunt can also improve their positions by using “bring ins” – materials that they bring to the adjudication to present to judges. For example, a recent “bring in” list encouraged students to “Find a dinosaur or extinct creature that lived in this area and make a recreation of it using crafts, food or costumes.” The students were also asked to present information to the judges about the creatures they chose.

The Scavenger Hunt event, held each year in November and December,  benefits students by teaching them to access and critically analyze sources of information, support teamwork in an academic arena, and engage in civil discourse and respectful argumentation skills. The hunt provides a safe place to learn and develop important educational skills that can be used later in life.

A middle school participant wrote that “coming to SOU to defend our answers” was the best part of the program. Another 6th-grader from Hanby Middle School in Gold Hill wrote that they “love the way that Scavenger Hunt not only challenges our thinking skills, but brings students closer together”.

Results
The middle and high school teams with the most points at the end of the competition are declared the winners and awarded a traveling trophy. The program has grown significantly since its inception 42 years ago, with a total of 23 middle and high schools competing this year. Logos Charter School of Medford earned first place for the high school and middle school Division A portions, while Medford’s Oakdale won the middle school Division B competition.

Academic Competitions
Middle and high school students have the opportunity to take part in a number of academic competitions presented by SOU Youth Programs throughout the year. In addition to the Scavenger Hunt, the program offers the Best of the Best Art Show, Brain Bowl and the Southern Oregon Mathletes League (offered through the SOU Mathematics Department).

To learn more about SOU’s Youth Programs competitions, visit youth.sou.edu/academics.

SOU's Brain Bowl tournament

SOU offers “Brain Bowl” for local students

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More than 20 teams and a combined 100-plus students participated last month in the 47th annual Southern Oregon Brain Bowl, a quizbowl tournament organized by the Pre-College Youth Program at Southern Oregon University for middle and high schools in the region.

The first-round winners are St. Mary’s, Ashland, Logos Charter and Henley high schools in the junior varsity category, and Cascade Christian, Ashland, Phoenix and Mazama high schools in the varsity competition. The four finalists in both the varsity and junior varsity categories will complete for the Brain Bowl Division Championships, with the competition filmed on Saturday, April 13, and aired on Southern Oregon Public Television (PBS) at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14.

Winners in the middle school category were St. Mary’s in Division A, McLoughlin in Division B and Scenic in Division C.

A special “Team Challenge” competition was also held during this year’s first-round high school tournament, with each team given five minutes to work together to answer a question or solve a problem. Each team was given the same challenge, and the special team event didn’t affect scoring for the overall tournament. The Team Challenge awards went to Grants Pass and Phoenix high schools in the varsity category, and to St. Mary’s and Henley high schools in the junior varsity category.

The SOU Pre-College Youth Programs staff congratulated all of the participating Brain Bowl students for their sportsmanship and competence, and thanked coaches for supporting their teams. The Jackson, Josephine and Klamath County school districts all helped to sponsor the tournament.

The director and question creator for this year’s Brain Bowl was James Johnson, who oversees the Academic Support Center at Ashland Middle School and coaches the school’s Brain Bowl team. The headquarters team included scorekeepers Diane Novak and Debbi Larsen, part of a team of more than 30 community members who served as timekeepers, scorekeepers and moderators.

The Southern Oregon Brain Bowl, based on game show Jeopardy, began in 1977 as a local academic competition between southern Oregon middle schools and high schools.

AHS junior varsity Brain Bowl team

SOU hosts middle and high school Brain Bowl

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The 46th annual Southern Oregon Brain Bowl, a quizbowl tournament organized by Southern Oregon University for area middle and high school teams, is in the books and the winners were Sacred Heart Home School, Cascade Christian and Ashland High in the high school divisions, and Ashland Middle School, Eagle Point and North Middle in the middle school divisions.

Sacred Heart Brain Bowl teamThe Southern Oregon Brain Bowl, which began in 1977 and is based on game show Jeopardy, is a local academic competition between southern Oregon middle schools and high schools. The schools compete in teams through a semi-final round, then championship rounds are held in the studios of Southern Oregon PBS and broadcast to the local viewing audience.

A total of 17 teams representing 14 schools competed in this year’s high school tournament, played with a March 18 opening round and then a final round last Saturday, April 22. The finals for both the varsity and junior varsity levels were held on the SOU campus and aired Sunday on SOPBS.

Ashland High School competed against the Sacred Heart Home School team in this year’s Division A Varsity, with Sacred Heart taking the trophy with a 75-40 final score. Cascade Christian and Eagle Point High School had a close match in Division B Varsity, with Cascade Christian coming out on top, 43-40. Ashland High School won a nail-biter over defending 2022 champion Grants Pass High School in the Junior Varsity Division – the two teams were tied until the final question, and the Ashland High team won, 39-37.

Cascade Christian Brain Bowl teamThe middle school divisions played in a round-robin format for five weeks beginning in January and ending in February. Winners were determined by their win/loss standings, and ties were broken by the winners of head-to-head competitions.

Division A was made up of Ashland, Hedrick, Logos, McLoughlin, St. Mary’s and The Valley School. Ashland and St. Mary’s each finished the tournament with a win-loss record of 4-1, but Ashland won a head-to-head match against, 13-12, in week two.

Division B was made up of Cascade Christian, Eagle Point, Kids Unlimited, Sacred Heart and Siskiyou School. Eagle Point and Siskiyou School each finished with 3-1 win-loss records, but Eagle Point won the two schools’ head-to-head matchup, 30-27, in week four.

Division C was made up of Fleming, Hanby, North, Rogue River, Scenic and South. North and South middle schools were the top finishers, with North running the table for a 5-0 win-loss record, followed by South at 4-1.

SOU Pre-College Youth Programs organized the tournaments, which were sponsored by Lithia 4Kids and open to participants from the Jackson, Josephine and Klamath County school districts. Organizers congratulated all team members and participating schools in both the middle and high school competitions, and thanked the coaches who served as mentors to their students and the SOPBS staff and volunteers who helped host the events.

More program information, pictures and scoreboards are available at the SOU Pre-College Youth Program website.

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SOU and LOGOS offer on-campus option for young college students

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NEWS RELEASE (available online at https://goo.gl/uEABm9)
(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will partner this fall with Medford’s LOGOS Public Charter School – the largest non-virtual K-12 charter school in Oregon – to offer an SOU campus-based, dual-credit college program for LOGOS students.
The program – LOGOS Scholars Academy – will offer college-credit coursework at no cost to the charter school’s students. Its office will be located in SOU’s Susanne Homes Hall, just south of the university’s Art Building and Schneider Museum of Art.
“At LOGOS, we have created a culture where students take ownership of their own future, and we start the transition to college and internships while they are still in high school,” said LOGOS Executive Director Joe VonDoloski.
LOGOS offers a home-based, individualized curriculum to 900 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. About 60 percent of the school’s 2017 senior class will graduate high school with 15 or more college credits, VonDoloski said.
As many as 30 students in 10th through 12th grade will take part in the Scholars Academy program, which will offer guidance from a LOGOS teacher at the school’s new satellite office on the SOU campus. Interested students must apply to LOGOS to join the program and to SOU for admission into the university’s Early Entry program.
Students accepted into the Scholars Academy program will attend college classes either full- or part-time, at no cost. A reduced tuition rate will be paid by LOGOS, which is sponsored by the Medford School District.
Students from any local school district are eligible to apply for the Scholars Academy program.
“Being in direct proximity to countless resources and opportunities at SOU will make higher education more tangible and purposeful for our students,” said LOGOS art teacher Allen Smith.
SOU offers a variety of options for students who wish to earn college credits while still in high school, including the Advanced Southern Credit program, in which about 1,500 students simultaneously earn high school and college credits for approved advanced placement coursework.
“We want to give qualified, college-ready students every opportunity be challenged and learn at a high level, regardless of their age,” said Rachel Jones, director of pre-college and youth programs at SOU. “We hope for a long and productive relationship with LOGOS.”
Informational meetings for students interested in enrolling in the Scholars Academy program will be offered through the summer by LOGOS staff members. Interested families should contact the charter school (www.logoscharter.com) at (541) 842-3658 or email admin@logoscharter.com.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power. It is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.