Students compete in Isabelliad
Published 3:05 pm Wednesday, May 8, 2019
A student competes in the corn hole tournament. (Photos by JOYANNNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)
Students submitted a variety of art to the competition
Maggie Noah sings during the talent competition.
J.P. Gibson plays the piano during the talent competition.
Madison King sings during the talent competition.
Cody sings during the talent portion of the competition
Dakota Smith plays the mandolin.
By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer
Isabella High School held its annual competition of the classes, the Isabelliad, on May 8.
Students in seventh through 12th grades participate in athletic, academic, artistic and talent competitions in hopes of scoring higher than their rival grade.
Seventh is against eighth, ninth against 10th and 11th against 12th.
Assistant Principal Sue Ellen Gilliland said the Student Leadership Team decides what categories to include each year.
“My favorite part is seeing that there is something for every child to be able to shine, to show their talents and their gifts, and sometimes we forget how talented our students are when we are only looking at a content area or an academic pass,” Gilliland said.
She said the event also creates camaraderie within the class as they compete.
“The kids really love it,” Gilliland said. “You will hear some of them say this is the best day of the year.”
This year, the art contest included woodworking, painting, sewing, cross stitch, metal art and photography. Judges were community members with experience in the field.
For the academic portion, participating students took tests in a variety of subjects to score points for their team with a first, second or third place.
For the talent portion, select students representing each grade sang, played and instrument or danced in hopes of scoring well with the judges.
As a part of 11th grade team, Madison King sang “Daddy Sang Bass” by Johnny Cash.
“I just like Johnny Cash and old songs,” King said of her song choice.
King said she likes trying beat the others classes at the contests.
“We are going to dominate,” King said.
“My favorite part is getting to have fun with all of my classmates and just enjoying ourselves at school,” IHS junior Sarah Knapp said.
Knapp was a part of the softball, dodgeball, egg toss and sack race competitions.
“I think we are doing pretty good,” Knapp said. “We’ve lost a few, but I think we have won a good majority.”
IHS junior Mackenzie Ratliff said the event brings members of the class together.
“We plan out who is going to do what,” Ratliff said.
Junior Kendall Reeves, who competed in some of the athletic events, said his team usually wins.
There are already some ideas for changes to make next year.
“Next year we are thinking about adding a digital element, so that maybe they can do some digital displays that will be judged,” Gilliland said.
Other possible additions for next year include a robotics or STEM innovation category.
