Students shine at Lit Fest!

USC teams earned two first place, two second place and one third- place finish in the middle and high school Battle of the Books.

Students from more than 25 school districts came together to celebrate literature, workshop poetry from the newly resurrected International Poetry Forum, and compete in the annual Battle of the Books. The event is organized and funded by the South Hills Area Gifted Teachers' Committee.

Gifted education teachers Sherri Garvey and Tom Yochum prepared the Upper St. Clair students for the event. The Boyce Middle School students were led by Ms. Garvey and the Fort Couch and USCHS contingents were headed by Mr. Yochum.

“Upper St. Clair School District had its best-ever showing at the event, winning both the high school and middle school divisions and nearly sweeping the medal stand,” Mr. Yochum said.

The USCHS team of Sophia Whitman, Sophia Henderson and Maria Alfredson-Themudo earned first place in the High School Division, while Raana Parchuri, Aaron Jiang, John Whitman and Malo Dubreil finished third. 

Three teams of Fort Couch Middle School eighth graders flexed their literary knowledge – earning one gold and two silver finishes in the Middle School Division. The team of Mateo Lin, Alex Zhang, Luka Beric and Brayden Wong won first overall. Tied for second place were the team of Seth Pedretti, Will Kreizenbeck, Owen Maher, Max Belczyk and Aadi Kaushik, and the team of Hannah Rideout, Mira Murthy, Claire Dietiker and Lindsey Fitzgerald.

This year’s theme was "The Thrill of Reading" and included stories of mystery, perseverance and intrigue. The middle schoolers read four selections this year: Ruta Septeys's I Must Betray You; Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting by 7s; V.E. Schwab's The City of Ghosts; and Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat. The high schoolers also read Brown's modern classic surrounding Team USA's improbable gold in rowing during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, in addition to Erik Larson's Devil in the White City, Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures. 

The creative exercises and literary opportunities provide spaces for collaboration and feedback among the participating schools. Students often prepare all fall for the Battle of the Books competition. 

“Months of reading, discussion, and preparation go into the event and over 50 students across Upper St. Clair, from Boyce through the high school, read this fall's novels, with most attending Lit. Fest to compete and have fun,” Mr. Yochum said.

Small teams from each school spent the day at various literary-themed workshops throughout the library: collaborating on flash fiction pieces, writing original poetry under the guidance of published poets, and competing in team trivia. Both Ms. Garvey and Mr. Yochum helped to plan, organize and run the event, the largest of its kind in the South Hills.

"Each student who commits to the annual Lit. Fest is a winner, even before the event begins,” Mr. Yochum said. “Despite demanding schedules, our students devote many hours to reading supplemental books and enjoying the camaraderie and learning that accompanies our discussions and preparations. We're so proud of all those who took the journey with us to various times and places, both real and imagined. Congrats to the students, but also the staff at each school who support our efforts and encourage reading and creativity each day."