Lake Oconee Academy (LOA) students competed in a “battle of the books” at the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl competition on January 23, 2013 at Greensboro Elementary School.  LOA teams competed in both the elementary and middle school division, and were successful in earning the opportunity to compete in the regional competition in February.

To compete in the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, students are required to read twenty books that are all nominees for the Georgia Children’s Book Award.  Teams then compete against other schools to test their knowledge of each of the books. The Georgia Children’s Book Award is sponsored by the Department of Language Education at the University of Georgia’s College of Education.  A different list of books is nominated every year.

The Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl is named for its founder, a media specialist at Sky Haven Elementary School in DeKalb County.  Ruffin formed teams of students to compete in a game format using books nominated for the Georgia Children’s Book Award.  Her goal was to encourage and inspire students to read quality children’s literature. 

“The LOA Reading Bowl team has done an exceptional job of reading and learning the minute details of twenty books for the competition,” said Lindsay Lipscomb, LOA media services director and reading coach. “The reading coaches are thrilled at their enthusiasm and the degree to which they have committed to this challenge.  We are very proud of all the team members.”

The Eastern Region Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition will be held February 2, 2013 at Greensboro Elementary School and will include 26 teams from different schools in the eastern region of Georgia.