Vol. 42, No. 11
February 27 , 2008
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Missouri Names First Junior Varsity LifeSmarts Champs
Are you smarter than a middle-schooler?
A consumer-savvy team from Camdenton Middle School emerged winners of the first-ever junior varsity competition in the Missouri LifeSmarts educational program. The eighth- grade student team, dubbed the “Laker Ottopilots 8,” answered some tough questions to prevail in the state championship event held in Jefferson City, Feb. 26.
Sherwood Middle School, Creighton, took second place in the statewide competition, and Linn Junior High School came in third.
LifeSmarts is a national program run by the National Consumers League that encourages students to develop consumer and marketplace skills in a fun way. The new junior varsity level is open to students in grades 6-8. The varsity level, now in its fifth year in Missouri, is for students in grades 9-12.
In Missouri, 337 middle school students in 38 teams tested their consumer knowledge in the areas of personal finance, health, safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. Competition questions are tailored specifically for the middle school-level student. The Attorney General’s office also submitted Missouri-specific questions that were used in the championship finals.
This year’s event began with an online competition where student teams competed for top scores.
The six highest-scoring teams were invited to the state championship to test their knowledge skills in a game show-style event, as is done at the varsity level. Missouri was one of eight states to hold a state championship event for the inaugural junior varsity contest.
So, how does it feel to be the first-ever Junior Varsity LifeSmarts winner? “It’s awesome!” said team captain, Julia Mann. “Obviously, being a part of LifeSmarts history is something really exciting for all our team members.”
The Laker Ottopilots 8 team is coached by Mary Otto, a family and consumer sciences teacher at Camdenton Middle School. Team members include Mann, Jonathan Lapeyre, Grace Cooney, Melinda Wilson and Kendall Thiesse.
Camdenton Middle School also fielded a seventh-grade team, the Laker Ottopilots 7, which made it to the state championship finals.
“Our seventh-grade team is pumped and will definitely compete again next year,” said Otto, obviously proud of her two teams. “Our eighth grade team is looking forward to moving up to the varsity competition next year and, hopefully, getting a shot at going to nationals.”
Teams signing up for the LifeSmarts competition were offered free flash cards and other materials to study for the event, which emphasizes financial literacy.
“Our students have been practicing since October,” said Otto, crediting their success largely to school and family support. She noted having two teams to prepare and practice together allowed them to have friendly challenges among themselves leading up to the events.
At the end of the day, as the Camdenton students gathered their prizes and t-shirts to return home, they enthusiastically discussed how cool it will be to add the new plaque to the school’s display case. They also began planning how they could decorate the bulletin board to recognize the LifeSmarts competitors and even include some of the difficult questions they had to answer. Otto quipped, “We may have to have a follow-up competition at school, maybe call it ‘Are you smarter than a middle-schooler?’”
The statewide program is coordinated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) organization. Missouri LifeSmarts’ financial sponsor is American Century Investments of Kansas City, who also is the national Junior Varsity sponsor.