On Tuesday, April 18, Norwayne Middle students won the North Carolina Region 2 Middle School Battle of the Books competition. The team qualified for the regional competition after winning the WCPS Middle School Battle of the Books Competition in March. The team will now head to the State-level competition on Friday, May 5.

“The coaches and their students are to be commended for their hard work, and for representing Wayne County Public Schools so well,” states Christy White, WCPS Title IV Enrichment Facilitator. “We wish the team the very best as they advance to the state competition.”

Sponsored by the North Carolina School Library Media Association, Battle of the Books is a quiz bowl type competition, specifically designed for students in grades 6 through 8. Students at participating schools read books from a list established by the state Battle of the Books committee, and then compete to test their knowledge of the books. This year’s book list consisted of 16 titles.

The Norwayne Middle 2022-2023 team consists of Olivia Adams, Kate Bass, Allyssa Derksen, Edward Francis, Everett Grey, Adriana Jacobs, Kayleigh Jacobs, Lyra Nielsen, Kaitlyn Ridgle, Josslyn Snyder, and Evelyn Wall. The team was coached by Connie Robinson (Head Coach) and Mylene Potter (Assistant Coach).

This year, WCPS hosted the Region 2 Battle of the Books competition. It was held at the Dillard/Goldsboro Alumni Cultural Center with approximately 10 teams and more than 90 students from area counties competing.

The other schools that participated in the competition include: Arapahoe Charter School, Cedar Grove Middle, Jacksonville Commons Middle, Kenansville Elementary, Newport Middle, Pamlico County Middle, Roland-Grise Middle, Topsail Middle, and Woodington Middle.