On Tuesday, February 1st, the first annual Students v. Staff Scholastic Bowl Game kicked off the two day event with the Staff team finding a lead of 380-270 against the students.

The event consisted of two halves that consisted of fast-paced trivia questions with points being awarded to the team which answered the fastest.

Junior captain Maureen Zywicki said that she thought it was going to be a unique experience for the Scholastic Bowl team, especially aside from their practices.

“I think it will be a little less pressure and the environment will be more fun where in the other competitions it can feel more formal,” Zywicki said. 

For the comepetitons, the team’s preperations are much more rigorous and serious than the environment from Tuesday afternoon.

“For practice we will do a bunch of different parctice questions and if we are lacking in a specific subject then we will get more specific with the coaches’ challenges,” Zywicki said. “A lot of us study outside and honestly just a lot of the general knowledge you have from class if your putting in the time it gets you pretty far.”

This preparation has come in handy for the team according to junior Nathaniel Yakushina.

“The questions were way easier because they hand picked them to match our events and the teachers so they were way less obscure,” Yakushina said. 

From the social studies department, U.S. History teacher Rebecca Walters said she found more joy in being with the students after rating herself a 1 out of 10 on her knowledge for the questions.

“My favorite part about this event was getting to hang out with the kids outside of class,” Walters said.

English teacher Adam Bialon said that he joined to help the Scholastic Bowl team out but also admitted to smack-talking in the heated environment.

“My favorite part was just crushing the spirits of the students at Oswego East,” Bialon said.

Despite his confidence, Bialon said that he faced some worries when it came to how well he would perform.

“I would say I’m middle of the road, I got my niches, I got my specialities,” Bialon said. “I just know a little bit about a lot of things but don’t know a lot about anything.”

Senior captain Brock Stanley capitalized on the more informal environment.

“The questions today were a little bit easier for the teachers and there wasnt a lot of math or a lot of science but questions that are not related to a trivia subject and are pretty easy,” Stanley said.

The trophy to both teams is the cause for the fresh rivalry, motivating each team to outwit the other.

“It was fun I’m glad we’re doing this we have talked about it for a long time,” Stanley said. “Getting to compete with our teachers was fun and just being able to hold a little grudge match with our rivalries was cool too.”

Staff will face the Scholastic Bowl Team once again on February 3rd to compete for day two of the competition.

Vivian Campbell is a staff writer for Oswego East High School’s online news magazine the Howl