St. Matthew’s campus abuzz with Quiz Bowl fun

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

As public health conditions improve and club activities begin to resume at campuses throughout the Archdiocese of New Orleans, excitement was in the air as school leaders from St. Matthew the Apostle in River Ridge and Our Lady of Lourdes in Slidell organized the first post-pandemic Quiz Bowl match between their respective schools – to give club members a taste of competitive academics after the cancellation of the larger, archdiocese-wide tournament.

Tony Bonura, St. Matthew’s principal, welcomed parents to the contest, staged during school hours inside St. Matthew’s Learning Center.

Noting that the previous day had been the first anniversary of his school’s launching of virtual classes, Bonura commended Catholic school students, teach ers and parents for rising to the challenges of the pandemic.

The principal told guests that the Quiz Bowl match was being held in the space once dubbed “The War Room” in the early weeks of the pandemic. During lockdown, the cozy tech hub was a room in which St. Matthew’s teachers could troubleshoot, share teaching strategies, have coffee breaks and stay connected during those uncertain weeks, Bonura said.

“For parents, I have just one instruction,” said Bonura to those awaiting the Quiz Bowl action. “Don’t blurt out the answers!”

Using buzzers on loan from Brother Martin High School, the two teams played a close contest, with Our Lady of Lourdes ultimately prevai ling over St. Matthew by just six points. Questions covered subjects such as math, science and language arts, with one example of the latter posing the following brain teaser: “What word is both the name of a bird and a verb for repeating a word?” (Answer: parrot).

St. Matthew’s Quiz Bowl  moderator is James Paci, assistant principal; OLL’s team is co-moderated by Tess Veazey and Nicole Beebe.