Academic Bowl Advisor Page 2011-2012

last updated 9/30/2011

Things to Look At

Academic Bowl Match Day Sketch (PDF) (10/17/08)
Latest Edition of the Advisor Handbook updated 9/28/11)

Notices

Draft of GL photos
The study outline in its draft form is now available for you to look at. Please take a look and send Jim any comments or corrections. It will undergo minor revisions in the oncoming days, but everything for the first match is pretty much set. If you have any parents from India, UK, Turkey or Spain and might want to contribute materials or input to the study resources, please encourage them to get in touch with Jim. posted 11/3/10
If you need to contact another advisor, e-mail Jim for contact info. posted 10/1/10

Forms You Need: NEW for the 2011-2012 Season

2011-2012 Academic Bowl Student Permission Form GOES HOME WITH STUDENT Parent keeps upper half, returns lower half to you. Use that to fill out excel roster form and bring lower half to next meeting. We must have this form back for the student to participate. posted 9/20/2011

Last year's (not updated yet)

Practice Match Outline posted 9/20/11
AcBo11-School Roster-Year 25.xls (excel file) Please fill this out and send it back to Jim electronically before the next advisor meeting. Please do not use last year's form and please keep it as an ".xls" extension. posted 10/1/10
If you can't or are reluctant to download the above excel file then print out the Roster as a PDF AcBo11-School Roster-Year 25.pdf and fill it in by hand and get it to Jim at or before the next advisor meeting. Write very clearly if you go this route. Snail Mail: GLEC 480 Broadway, Methuen, MA 01844. Fax (9 7 8) 6 8 9 - 7466 posted 10/1/10
AcBo11 Schedule Draft 1.pdf This is the schedule that we made up at the meeting on 9/29/10. If you are viewing it now, it has probably already changed. posted 10/1/10
AcBo11 Flyer GOES HOME WITH STUDENT This is a parent oriented 2 page description of the Academic Bowl. Or, you can direct parents to the Academic Bowl Parent Page, where they can view this as a PDF. (not yet updated, coming soon)

Minutes from Meetings

AcBo11 advisors meeting 1 (Sep. 29, 2010) Minutes.pdf posted 10/1/10

General Information

Suggestions on how students can prepare for a match: (12/1/06)

Have them to look over the content outline for that match and brush up on subjects that they have had but might need some reviewing.
Help them with the subjects they haven't had yet that are being covered that match in the study guide.
Look at the study guides and links provided and practice with the interactive software, if they have internet access, for the geography questions.
Discuss the major events in the news in the past two weeks.
Make up some scrabble multiplication problems and let them practice. We will have at least three of these in the tournament.
Encourage them to read newspapers and weekly news magazines.
Have them make up their own questions and quiz each other.

Q&A:

Do kids have to stay in the same squad from match to match? No, but most advisors seem to keep them in the squad they started with, and if they switch squads they should know what the new squad's focus areas are. It is not advisable to switch squads.
Bus problems (if the bus is even 5 minutes late). Please call Trombly's directly and ask to speak with Jan (978 937-3422 ) or call the school of the pickup before yours. All the school phone numbers are listed at "Participating Schools" under the Academic Bowl. (Jim is either en route to or at the school where the match is and probably can't help to resolve a problem until after he arrives at the host school. If you call him, he is just going to call Trombly's, so please call them directly first and then call Jim on his cell phone.)
On stage seating arrangements? Lawrence Public School students sit in seats # 1, 3 and 5. Others sit in seats 2, 4 and 6. Seats are numbered left to right from the audience's perspective.
Explain the rule about 7th and 8th graders again. You may carry up to 10 8th graders and 10 7th graders on your roster, but you only may bring 16 students to a match. At least 6 of those students who you bring to a match must be 7th graders. At least 6 of the players (for each school) in the table activities must be 7th graders and at least 6 of the players on stage must be 7th graders. Not more than 10 of the players (for each school) in the table activities may be 8th graders and not more than 6 of the players on stage may be 8th graders.
So, how many can I have on my roster? Bottom line, at the end of the year you will get a maximum of 20 trophies, so do not let your roster get above 20.
What if I show up with only 11 (or fewer !) students (the minimum is 12)?As far as the table activities go, your students will play as you assign them, but your partner school cannot use more than 4 players in any one squad. For the stage activities, we will have a ruling at the time depending on what seems to be the right thing to do. Either you can borrow a student from your partner school to fill the empty seat, or one of your students will play twice, or there will be empty seat. [This is why we want you to carry at least 16 students on your roster. The match will go in some form but this situation is to be avoided if at all possible. In an emergency, if you have to draft students for a one time appearance in the tournament to create your critical mass of 6 7th and 6 8th graders, that would probably be ok. Do not show up expecting more than 6 of your 8th graders to play on stage. That would appear to be an unfair advantage, even if you are short-handed.]
What if we are really late to a match? We might allow a little bit of extra time for your team in the table activities if there is extra time to give (there is a bit of slack built into the day, but keep in mind that we are under strict time constraints).

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Page Last modified: February 09 2012 13:33:33.