North Gwinnett Middle School won top honors at this year’s PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades State Championship competition. The team captured the title at the event held on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at the Arts and Sciences Auditorium on the campus of Georgia College and State University (GC&SU) in Milledgeville, GA. North Gwinnett Middle School is a part of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system.

During the morning session of the event, 24 semi-finalist teams from across the state competed in a round-robin competition. Eight teams emerged as finalists and competed against each other in the afternoon single-elimination competition session. The state championship team members are Ipsita Bhattacharya, Jack Hunsaker, Nagayuvan Ayyachamy, Srishti Sood and Thomas Jenkins. Scott Johnson, Scott Kim and Kelly Lorenz coach the team.

All eight teams competing in the final rounds earned medals and awards. Other award-winning teams include: Second Place: Lakeside Middle School of Forsyth County Schools, coached by Cheryl West; Third Place: Chamblee Middle School of DeKalb County School District, coached by John Donegan and Cathy Hirsch; Fourth Place: The Paideia School, independent school located in DeKalb County, coached by Wilson Hein; Fifth Place: River Trail Middle School of Fulton County School System, coached by Scott Fowler and Sarah Roberson; Sixth Place: Bremen Middle School of Bremen City School District, coached by Denice Steed; Seventh Place: Aaron Cohn Middle School of Muscogee County School District, coached by Rebecca Perez; and Eighth Place: Dodgen Middle School of Cobb County School District, coached by Kay Tabor and Linda Caballaro.

“It takes skill and cooperation to create a successful academic bowl team, and all the students who participated in the state championship competition should be proud of that accomplishment,” said PAGE Executive Director Craig Harper. “We understand the months of study and hard work exhibited by these students and their coaches, and we applaud them. We also appreciate the support of parents and school administrators, all of whom contributed to the success of each team. Finally, I’d like to thank GC&SU and the Collegiate Middle Level Association (CMLA) for hosting our competition at this outstanding university.”

The PAGE Academic Bowl features teams of middle school students fielding questions in subjects such as history, mathematics, science, literature and the performing arts. Opposing teams compete against the clock to answer toss-up and bonus questions in order to score points. The goal of the program is to inspire students to excel academically, to enhance student self-confidence and self-esteem through high achievement, and to develop both a team and competitive spirit. Statewide, more than 1,000 students competed at the local, regional and state levels of the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades. PAGE sponsored this year’s competition, with Georgia College’s Collegiate Middle Level Association serving as host.

The Professional Association of Georgia Educators honors outstanding students and educators and encourages academic excellence through competitive academic initiatives such as PAGE STAR, the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades and the PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon.