By Steve Valencia

T

his is not your typical television program Jeopardy; Lincoln's Science Bowl team and Academic League have about 20 to 30 members and does not win any cash. The majority of the team are sophomores and juniors and a few seniors and freshmen. Like most game shows, they get asked a question and when they have the answer, they buzz in.

Last year, Ms. Dickens and Mr. Muldoon were over Academic League and Science Bowl. This year, both have been passed to Ms. Rogers, a biology teacher, in the Center of Public Safety.

On Saturday, Feb. 11, Lincoln hosted the Science Bowl that was sponsored by NOBCCHE (National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers). NOBCCHE initiates and supports local, regional, national, and global programs that assist people of color in fully realizing their potential in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial pursuits in chemistry, chemical engineering, and related fields.  5 different local schools participated in the eventl; Lincoln, La Jolla,  Hoover, Pruess, and Millennial Tech Middle.

“I like that it’s academic based and it’s a good celebration of the knowledge that the students have and show what they learned in school and they also get credit for that,” said Rogers.

The Academic League and Science Bowl is like a sports team. There is a whole season playoff, and then finals. If Lincoln would have won the Science Bowl, they would have went on to Washington D.C., with an all expense paid trip and a chance to compete with other national teams. Lincoln played a match against La Jolla to go to the nationals in Washington, D.C., but did not win. Lincoln still has a possible chance to go to the national competition in Washington D.C., said Mr. Wiseman, Vice Principal of Science and Engineering.

Senior Korral Taylor, has been a member of both teams for 3 years. “I like Science Bowl better because we know the subject better and it's not random questions," said Taylor.  “My most memorable moment with Science Bowl is when we went to Atlanta our first year in 2010 and played a team far away. We lost, but it was a good experience.”

"First and foremost this is the Center of Science and Engineering," said Wiseman.  "We engage in activities that promote science, technology, engineering, and math. We also have students that are really gifted in those areas.  They have lots of talent and they are passionate about science and technology.  We want to give our students the opportunities to showcase what it is they know and have fun competition that really promotes us here in our center."

Lincoln lost their Academic Leauge match last week against Patrick Henry. This Thursday, March 1, Lincoln plays their first away game at Coronado from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Wismen said a big school like Lincoln should be represented in Academic League. “We are celebrated for athletic teams that we have, we should be celebrated for the academic teams we have.”  Science Bowl and Academic League has grown the past couple of years. Lincoln has been able to send students on to two national competitions. One was in Houston, Texas and the other one was in Atlanta, Georgia.  It may not be nationally televised, but our students are winning in so many ways!