Watertown Middle School Receives Belated Win in Quiz Bowl

Patience was a virtue for Watertown Middle School's Quiz Bowl team, which got the first place trophy at Monday's School Committee meeting having been left out of the celebration over the weekend due to a miscalculation.

The competition, held at Malden Catholic High School, tests student's knowledge of the Massachusetts State Frameworks, said Kara Conceison, a sixth-grade English teacher and team moderator.

Watertown's MC division team got the high score in the preliminary compeition, but due to a mistake in the calculations the WMS students did not get to compete in the finals, which includes the top three teams.

The team members are eighth graders Jeremy Holt and Cris Patvakanian;
seventh graders Danielle Schwalm, Julia Moynihan, Ben Lowry, James Piccirilli and Stefanos Kiorpes; and sixth grader Nicky Cordeiro

When the mistake was discovered, WMS was awarded the first place trophy. A trio of students from Malden Catholic made the presentation at Monday's School Committee meeting.

The School Committee and the audience at the meeting gave the team an ovation for its. accomplishment.

"Who needs the Super Bowl when you have the Quiz Bowl?" said School Committee member David Leon.

The committee also commended the team for acting with maturity when it appeared things would not go their way.

"Sometimes things don't turn out the perfectly, and I understand you kids acted with grace in the moment," Leon said. "Problems occur, and how you address it sometimes is more important."

Town Council President and School Committee member Mark Sideris added, "We're proud of you and your parents should be proud of you."