Walton team wins Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl state championship

Walton Reading Bowl team

Submitted information and photo:

Demonstrating their literary mastery, the Walton High School Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team recently claimed the title of State Champions. 

Walton students competed against Loganville High School student in what was the team’s first appearance at the state reading bowl event in Athens, Georgia. 

The tournament was held during the annual University of Georgia Children’s Literature Conference. Walton’s Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Team was formed in 2011, but they didn’t start competing until 2012.  

Helen Ruffin, a library media specialist at Sky Haven Elementary School in DeKalb County, created the Reading Bowl in 1986. Her vision was to have teams, comprised of students from different schools, compete to test their knowledge of the selected books. 

In 2000, after Ruffin’s retirement, several library media specialists formed the DeKalb County Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. Other school districts in Georgia heard about this unique reading initiative, and soon the Georgia Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl opened to students in fourth grade through 12th grade. The winning teams from the Divisional Bowls meet at the Annual Conference on Children’s Literature in March for the State Championship of the Georgia Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl.  

Last year, Shallowford Falls Elementary School students won the elementary level state Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. 

 

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Shallowford Falls ES students win state Reading Bowl competition

Students from Shallowford Falls Elementary School took first place in the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl in Athens on March 24.

Students read 18 Georgia Children’s Book Award nominees (this year’s booklist can be found here) and memorized details of the books, then answered questions in a bowl-type format. It’s the first time Shallowford Falls has won the Reading Bowl. 

The competition is named after Helen Ruffin, school librarian in DeKalb County, and was begun in 1986. 

 

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