[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO ALACHUA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S 2001 QUIZ BOWL TEAM

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                         HON. KAREN L. THURMAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Speaker, I wish to pay tribute to six remarkable 
elementary school students, Sam Hart, Ryan McCoy, Ashley Nelson, Paloma 
Paredes, Megan Raulerson, and Justin Sturm; their equally remarkable 
teacher, Shirley Tanner, and their school for triumphing in the 2001 
National Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl.
  Located in Alachua, a tiny city of approximately five thousand 
people, Alachua Elementary School serves less than 600 students. 
Principal Jim Brandenburg described the one-hundred and six- year-old 
school as a ``community school'' and credited community involvement for 
the school's quality, explaining that: ``Alachua is a very stable 
community. Many of our students' parents and grandparents also attended 
Alachua Elementary School. We don't have a lot of money but the 
parental involvement and community support help make up for that.''
  Alachua Elementary School is often referred to as ``the little school 
that could.'' It has been honored as a Blue Ribbon School and recently 
received for student achievement from the Alachua County School Board. 
Furthermore, this is the second consecutive year that Alachua 
Elementary School has come in first in the state in the National 
Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl.
  Shirley Tanner has coached both of Alachua Elementary School's 
champion National Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl teams. She also makes time to 
teach enrichment classes and instructs students and teachers about 
technology resources. She is certainly a beloved and devoted teacher 
who prefers to keep the focus on her students' accomplishments rather 
than her own.
  Mrs. Tanner initiated the school's involvement in the challenging 
competition several years ago. The test consists of 100 computer-
generated multiple-choice questions covering a wide range of school 
subjects, current events and trivia. Each of the fifth-grade students 
on the quiz bowl team worked incredibly hard to win this competition. 
Students who qualified for the team already had a wide range of general 
knowledge, but still had to prepare for the competition. They divided 
up topics in various academic disciplines and each student became an 
expert in one or more fields. They studied for a minimum of an extra 
hour every day, as well as practicing team-work, test-taking strategies 
and speed. Mrs. Tanner says this approach is the best strategy to take 
when preparing students for a competition in which they have no idea 
which questions will be asked of them. They simply need to be quick 
minded, calm under pressure and knowledgeable about many subjects. She 
said the six students on this year's team were all of these things and 
even worked hard enough on their regular school work to make the Honor 
Roll. We are very proud of them.
  Now let me tell you a little bit more about these wonderful kids.
  Sam Hart, who also won the spelling bee at Alachua Elementary School 
this year, focused on spelling. He also concentrated on sports and 
children's literature. Sam is a quiet, intelligent student who Mrs. 
Tanner described as ``highly respected and popular with both teachers 
and peers.''
  Ryan McCoy is the second member of his family to participate in the 
quiz bowl. His older brother Evan McCoy was also on the school's quiz 
bowl team. Ryan concentrated on sports for the competition as well as 
measurements and Roman numerals.
  Ashley Nelson, a straight-A student who took sixth grade math this 
year, specialized in math and measurement. On test day, Ashley was the 
team member chosen to enter the team's answers using the computer 
keyboard or mouse pointer. Ashley performed this stressful task 
``flawlessly'' according to Mrs. Tanner. She input the team answers 
quickly and accurately. She also demonstrated her fine grasp of math 
concepts and computation by correctly answering all the math questions 
without even using a pencil or paper.
  Paloma Paredes, another straight-A student, learned time zones and 
geometry for the competition. Mrs. Tanner described Paloma as an 
incredibly conscientious and hard-working student. Paloma studies every 
chance she gets.
  Megan Raulerson, also a straight-A student, was the team's language 
arts expert. In addition to her schoolwork and Quiz Bowl participation, 
Megan routinely appears on the school's closed circuit live video news 
broadcasts. Both Megan and fellow Quiz Bowl teammate, Justin Sturm, 
frequently fill in when a scheduled anchorperson fails to show up. This 
means they don't even have the opportunity to read the script until a 
few minutes before broadcast time. A tough job, but they do it 
wonderfully.
  Mrs. Tanner says that Justin Sturm ``wants to know everything about 
everything.'' She says Justin excels in science and is an avid reader 
and an enthusiastic learner.
  I would also like to recognize last year's quiz bowl winners: Keely 
Duff, Tyler Mikell, Elizabeth Keller, Katey Sands and Sara Wooding for 
their achievements. Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring all of 
these exceptional students.




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