There are many different types of school contests, but VTT might have the best ones. What contest, you might ask? Well, there are cultural contests like the Hanukkah door contest, the Hanukkah Hotline, and the Yom Haatzmaut chidon. We also hold literacy week contests like the “how many books in the library” contest, and the storybook dress up contest. We also had the Being My Best contest where people get rewarded with gold coins which are put into the class jar corresponding to the recipient. The first class to fill their jar with coins wins an ice cream party.
The Sports day contest is one of the biggest contests. It’s when the whole school from grade one two seven is sorted into one of four teams David (blue), Devorah (red), Esther (yellow), Moshe (green), then compete in games all day to earn the most points. The challenges consist of aim, speed, strength, sportsmanship, Ruach, and teamwork. Students will participate in activities like tug of war, relay races, and toss the bean bags. After every game the top team gets 100 points, second gets 75, third gets 50, and fourth gets 25. At the end of the day the team with the most points wins it all. Before this each grade in their team colors split up to play one game of Tug of War. For example all the grade 4 reds would play tug of war against all the blue yellows and green all in grade 4. This would go on until every grade has gone and there’s a winner. The winners are then read out and everyone celebrates. This year’s winner was team Moshe (green) and this was their first win in over ten years, possibly since the 1980’s.
Another challenge was the door decoration which was quite the challenge. This consisted of each class decorating their classroom doors. This challenge was held during Hanukkah so the main theme was obviously Hanukkah. Some classrooms got really creative by decorating their doors with things like popsicle sticks and glue. Some classes were really creative using paper cutouts of their classmates. Others making menorahs with light bulbs glowing. Then the judges, who are usually younger kids, will walk around the halls and give the doors a score and when they’re done they will give the scores to the office and they will announce it on the PA system the class with the best door wins a party. The winners of this contest were class 6B.
The next great challenge was the being my best contest which consists of being kind and going outside following the rules to gain coins. If a class fills up their jar with coins, they win an ice cream party. Some ways of gaining coins are using your computer only when you’re supposed to or walking in the halls, helping people, keeping your locker area clean. You can also lose coins by running in the halls, being loud in the halls, being aggressive or staying inside during recess. The coins are handed out by the teachers if they see you doing something on the being my best poster. The winners of this contest were classes 4B and 6B.
The Hanukkah hotline is a fun one when Mr Gelmon and Shane Foxman read out questions well every class calls to answer these questions related to Hanukkah. To answer a question you have to be the first person to call them then say the answer you get one point. Last year’s winner was 6B, who also won the door contest. They were really quick with it. Some questions were really hard and for grade seven or six, but some were easy and made for grade one or two, and some for everyone from grade one to seven. To be able to win you and your class needs to be fast at dialing the phone, finding the answer quickly and watching the stream.
Literacy week is one of the most creative events. During the week you do all sorts of fun activities related to books. One day we dressed up as our favorite character from a book. There were lots of creative winners last year. Another day we met an author that showed us all the details about the books that they created. One day we guess how many books are in our school library and the winner gets a prize. We do all sorts of fun activities depending on the grade/class and the time of day. The last day of the week is always the most fun.
The school has many fun contests throughout the year, and all are amazing and outstanding. But it doesn’t matter who wins, it is the fun that happens during the contest that VTT students love.