The World Scholar Cup
Note: Written by the participants from Oneiro Schoolhouse of WSC this year.
The World Scholars Cup (WSC) is such an amazing experience. It teaches one teamwork and the importance of respecting the differences between ourselves and others. You get to meet “Scholars” from other schools and the best thing is – they are experiencing the same thing you are and you can relate to them almost instantly. That is something which happens very rarely.
This competition consists of four main events – Team Debate, Collaborative Writing, Scholar’s Challenge and Scholar’s Bowl. You can read more about these at their official website: www.scholarscup.org
Briefly described, these challenges are:
Team Debate – A motion is presented on which two teams (affirmative and negative) debate. Each team speaks three times, with one team consisting of three members.
Collaborative Writing – Six different prompts are given. Team members get time to research about their prompt, then write an essay independently. Finally, they again work together to re-check their essays.
Scholar’s Challenge – Probably the hardest part of the competition. Scholars are given 60 minutes to answer 120 questions (that is 1 question per 30 seconds!). The questions are MCQs based on the six subjects scholars had to study.
Scholar’s Bowl – A very fun quiz. Each team gets a clicker on which they select their answers to questions which show up on the screen. The questions are often based on famous movies like the Lion King. They even show scenes of the films! (spoiler-alert)
The six subjects we were given to study were very interesting. They were all related to our daily-life experiences. For example, in Social Studies we studied the concept of trends!
Apart from this, there are also fun events. There is a Talent Show where Scholars can share their talent with others. Our team performed a magic show!
There is an alpaca-adoption ceremony where each member gets cute little alpacas (which are stuffed toys, of course).
Finally – the awards ceremony. This is the definition of emotional. Scholars are awarded for their performance throughout the competition. At the end, teams who have qualified for the next round, which this time is in Dubai, are also announced. It is truly an adrenaline-pumping period. And when you win awards, the feeling you get cannot be described.
As a matter of fact, our team won 19 medals and we also qualified for the next round! Wish us good luck as we wish to see more students participating from our school next year.
See you soon, Scholars.