JCHS Academic Team Members Excel at State Governor's Cup

 Three members of the JCHS Academic team competed as finalists at the Kentucky State Governor's Cup this past weekend at the Galt House in Louisville, KY. The Governor's Cup is the state's premier academic competition featuring the best young minds in the state. Governor's Cup encourages depth and breadth of academic knowledge, cultural literacy, teamwork, leadership, creativity, risk assessment, and critical thinking, and provides the fun that comes with being part of a team. Established in 1985, KAAC now serves over 18,000 students and nearly 1200 schools at over 400 competitions each year.

In the State Governor's Cup Humanities competition, Addan Witt earned 17[th] place in the entire state. Witt's performance was even better than his score and placement reflect. He scored 38, which was only two points away from 10[th] place (40) and only five points away from 2[nd] place (43). Earlier, Witt was selected as a member of this season's All-League Honors Team for the Red River Academic League! Congratulations, Addan, on a great Academic Team season!
Gabe Gross and Miley Bowles represented the team with great performances in the Science competition. Gross placed 37[th] in the State Governor's Cup with a score of 19. Miley Bowles was not too far behind. Bowles placed 51[st] in the state with a score of 16.

These accomplishments top off a great season for the JCHS Academic team. The team finished second overall in the 48[th] District Governor's Cup and was also the 48[th] District Quick Recall Champion.

Academic Team Explained
What does it take to be on the one team that focuses exclusively on academic topics/issues at one of the top high schools in Kentucky? Participating on the Academic team provides the opportunity to showcase academic achievement, provides academic rigor and creativity and gives participants the recognition they deserve. The academic competition broadens their knowledge base, helps build relationships with like-minded peers, teaches the value of teamwork, and facilitates the development of new skill sets that will help the student succeed beyond the classroom. Academic team coach Jordan Hays explains who can participate on the academic team, how the team practices, and what the competitions are like. 

Coach Hays reported the following: 
"Any JCHS student may join the academic team. We practice twice a week after school by having mock quick recall matches. Students typically have an area of expertise they hone over time. Students' performance at practice determines who gets the most playtime during a quick recall match. There are two main ways we compete: Quick Recall and Content Assessments. 

Quick recall is a fast-paced quiz game in which two teams of four players each answer questions from different categories, such as mathematics, science, social studies, language arts, and arts and humanities. A moderator reads the questions aloud, and the first team to buzz in gets a chance to answer. At the end of the match, the team with the most points wins. 


Content assessments are multiple-choice exams that measure students' mastery of specific subject areas. Students can choose up to three exams from the same categories for quick recall. The exams are scored based on the number of correct answers. There is also a written composition that involves a student writing an essay earlier in the week of the competition. This is then scored by a composition reader from each competing school. 


During the fall, we play weekly matches within a local league we have been a part of for many years: the Red River Academic League. This year, the participants include us, Wolfe Co., Breathitt Co., Jackson Independent, Lee Co., Estill Co., and Powell Co. We meet once a week for two matches between three different teams at a host school. These are friendly matches and not a part of the statewide competitions held by the Kentucky Association for Academic Competition (KAAC). The only fall competition that we participate in that is associated with KAAC is JV Challenge where only freshmen and sophomores may compete. 

In the winter/spring, we have the Governor's Cup tournament that takes place in District, Regional, and State stages. Quick recall, content assessments, and written composition are played at each level and top scorers advance on to compete in the next stage. 

At the district level, we are in the 48th District with Estill and Rockcastle Counties. 

At the Regional level, we are in the 12th Region with Berea Community, Boyle Co., Casey Co., Danville High, East Jessamine High, Estill Co., Garrard Co., Madison Central, Madison Southern, Model Laboratory, Rockcastle Co., and West Jessamine High. 

The state competition is held every year in Louisville or Lexington." 

JCHS Counselor, Building Assessment Coordinator Randi Vickers Moore wrote: "I have been on and around sports teams my whole life, and this academic team works just as hard. They are so dedicated and they amaze me!! They practice after school AND on their own. Their practice is TAKING TESTS and learning about what they didn't get correct. They also do so much studying and practicing at home. All I can say is they put in the time and their hard work is paying off. I am glad these smarties are Generals!"