Teams from North Hunterdon High School won first and second place in the 2019 NJ High School Battle of the Books competition at Middlesex County College on Monday, February 25, 2019. The High School Battle of the Books challenges students to read nine novel-length books and then work as teams to answer trivia questions about the books.
The NHHS squad of Natalie Bonilla, Elizabeth Hack, Rena Li, Nicolas Pinzon, Valerie Paolillo and Jazzmine Parliyan bested 22 other teams from across the state to win the first-place trophy. Their classmates Elizabeth Caso, Alicia Chapman, Jadyn Funkhouser, Paeton Horsch, Callisto Morgan, and Shae Marks prevailed in a sudden-death run-off against Edison High School to win second place.
The NHHS Battle brigade comprised 18 students working on three teams. In addition to reading the titles on the Battle of the Books list, team members prepared by writing practice trivia questions, running drills on author-title recognition, and competing in scrimmage rounds of questioning in the weeks leading up to the state meet. At that event, North competitors wore T-shirts designed by team member Valerie Paolillo.
“Credit for this victory goes to every member of the Battle of the Books club, which is a completely student-run team,” said NHHS librarian Martha Hickson. “All of these kids have worked incredibly hard since September.It was thrilling to see that work pay off so spectacularly.”
First Place Team – (left to right) Valerie Paolillo, Rena Li, Nicolas Pinzon, Elizabeth Hack, Natalie Bonilla, and Jazzmine Parliyan
Second Place Team – (left to right) Callisto Morgan, Elizabeth Caso, Paeton Horsch, Alicia Chapman, Shae Marks, and Jadyn Funkhouser
