Neighbor News
Rock, Paper, Scissors takes over Kings Road School
Fun, and good-natured competition takes over Kings Road during the month of February.
Earlier this year the Kings Road art teacher, Gil Thompson, and Kings Road School counselor Brett Levine were discussing ways to bring excitement, fun, community, and a little competition to the school. Given the different restrictions, due to COVID, this had proved a challenge. But, when Mr. Thompson suggested a school-wide Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament, Mr. Levine knew this was the ticket to levity in a rather challenging school year. Little did they know, at the time, how much fun and joy this event would actually bring to the entire school.
Thompson and Levine enlisted their Special Area Teacher colleagues at Kings Road to help organize and run this event which included chorus teacher, Donna Ward; STEAM teacher, Camille Berger, and physical education teacher, Angelo Abbondandolo. The students were introduced to the event with a teaser video, produced by Ms. Ward seen here. https://youtu.be/XsWPKvrNdV8
Over the course of 3 weeks, over 240 students participated in single-elimination, tournament style, play. Video recaps were given to the school community to keep the excitement level high. As the tournament pool got smaller, rounds were live-streamed, over Zoom, to the school so classmates could virtually cheer on the participants.
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Eventually, 4 students were left for the final matches. The entire school watched as Ms. Ward kicked off the final rounds by singing the national anthem and Mr. Abbondandolo was introduced as the official, uniformed referee.
In the first semi-final match, Carinna Reddy (3rd Grade) defeated Clark Round (1st Grade) 4-1. In the second semi-final match, Andon Morley (4th Grade) defeated Wilson Kilgannon (5th Grade) 4-2. The final match, featuring Reddy v. Morley was a nail-biter with Morley eventually coming out victorious and winning the coveted Rock Paper Scissor champion t-shirt and a trophy while being covered in confetti.
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This event was a lot more than meets the eye. In a year with so many school events modified or canceled the Kings Road, Rock Paper Scissors tournament was a throwback to events pre-Covid. The excitement, laughter, and joy this brought the school community exceeded everyone’s expectations and plans are already in the works to make this an annual event.
So what’s the next best thing that the special teachers have in store for the Kings Road School community? They’re not saying but here’s a hint…..Snap, Crackle, and Pop!