Hilo Public Library team wins Heluhelu Quiz Bowl
Students shouted and jumped with joy when they knew the answer to some difficult questions asked during the second annual Heluhelu Quiz Bowl competition Thursday at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii in Keaau.
For the second year in a row, the Hilo Public Library team of students took home the top prize among the 10 Big Island schools and libraries competing this year.
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Students from grades four through seven were asked 30 questions and had a minute to respond. Correct answers were signaled by a green flag being raised at their table, while a red flag was raised for incorrect answers.
“It feels good to win twice in a row,” said Hilo Public Library team member Sophie Loewen after the competition. “It’s fun when you know you got the question right even before they put the flag up.”
Hilo Public Library’s team included AJ Penn, Mace Peng, Sophie Loewen, Keiko Gervais, Arizona Chang and MJ Penn serving as an alternate.
The team was coached by Hilo librarian Gretchen Andrews, who was unable to attend but watched the competition via a livestream provided by Kamehameha Schools. Joan Ohlmachern, an elementary school teacher in Hilo, filled in as the assistant coach.
“They put in a lot of effort and did a really great job,” said Andrews, who has been serving as a quiz bowl coach for nearly 10 years. “As a librarian, I’m really proud of them, because this isn’t a part of school or any school work, this is all voluntary reading on their part, and I think it’s really great they want to read these books and they retain the information and are excited to compete.”
Questions ranged from the name of the Challenger astronaut from Hawaii to Muhammad Ali’s favorite superhero and came from a selection of more than 30 books that the students read throughout the year, including Newbery Award and Nene Award winners.
“I want to thank all (the students) for their work and all their reading and excitement,” said master of ceremonies David Giff. “When I saw the teams get all excited about a question or the clapping for a team that got a tough question right, that was wonderful.”
The competition is an expansion of the Newbery Quiz Bowl, a 35-year tradition that now features new books and material under its Heluhelu name.
The official quiz master for this year’s competition was children’s book author Meg Medina, who is the 2023 Library of Congress’ National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
Medina read off all the questions and stayed to talk story and sign copies of her young adult book for all the participating students this year.
Coming in second place was Hawaii Pacific Academy Lower, and in third place was Konawaena Elementary.
Other teams that competed this year were Ha‘aheo Elementary, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, Kealakehe Intermediate, Mountain View Public and School Library, Hawaii Pacific Academy Middle, Kealakehe Elementary and Pa‘auilo Elementary and Intermediate School.
The competition was sponsored by Candlewick Press, Friends of the Library-Waikoloa Region, Hawaii Community Foundation’s HAPA Fund, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, and Resortica Hawaii.
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
