Elementary school students from across central New York unite to celebrate learning
By Allison Kenien, contributing writer
Photos courtesy of Bishop Grimes Jr/Sr High School
Every school year, Luke Stonecipher is excited about one big event: Bishop Grimes Academic Games.
Luke started attending the games in kindergarten when he entered the science competition. Eventually, he became interested in Lego Robotics, and now he works with a friend each year to build a racecar. This year in sixth grade, Luke participated for one last time in the event held on April 6. He started the day with the math competition, then headed to the robotics race and the robotics maze, earning a first-place ribbon to end his journey on a high note.
After his events wrapped up, Luke decided to stick around and drive his robot around the gym with the other kids. “It’s my last year, so it’s a little sad, but I’m going to seventh grade at Bishop Grimes,” he said. He plans to attend the games next year as a student volunteer.
Luke is not the only kid who loves the Bishop Grimes Academic Games. This year, more than 200 children from across central New York participated at the East Syracuse campus. The event is a one-day celebration of elementary school students and their talents. Kids in kindergarten through sixth grade can enter a range of scholarly events including spelling, science, math, oratory, art, religion, essay and robotics. The event is run by the staff and students of Bishop Grimes, along with volunteers from the community including local volunteer group, AT&T Pioneers.
During this year’s event, the school building was electric with families exploring galleries of student writings, drawings and paintings. The hallways rang with the sound of students singing, playing instruments, performing poems and presenting science experiments.
Although the academic games can have a competitive aspect by nature, it’s clear that Bishop Grimes is more focused on building community and self-esteem.
The community vibe was clear as students admired the work of both friends and strangers. One girl was overheard saying, “I didn’t get an art ribbon, but I can see why they picked the winners. They were really good.” Her dad mentioned that he participated in the Bishop Grimes Academic Games as a child nearly 30 years ago. “I didn’t always get a ribbon, but I still had fun,” he said. Later that day, the young lady earned a ribbon after all. She raced a car in the Lego Robotics event and finished second place.
The academic games have been running for about three decades – so long that it has become a grade school tradition for many local families with parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters who partook at some point. Even the current Bishop Grimes principal, Allyson Headd, participated in the games as a child.
“When I was a kid, the academic games showed me that Bishop Grimes is a very special place, and I realized how much the school could offer me,” Headd said. “The event is an important cornerstone for Bishop Grimes and for many local elementary school students.”
While many families at the event could be considered “veterans,” there were also eager new participants. Maggie McKee’s daughter decided to enter for the first time this year after discovering the event through Facebook. The fifth grader from the Fayetteville-Manlius District entered the math and science events.
“We love seeing everyone’s work,” McKee said. “We love seeing the excitement. It’s a Saturday morning and everyone is here.”
McKee said that her daughter is active in swimming and martial arts but doesn’t have an opportunity to do many academic or STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) extracurriculars, so she was thrilled to find a local science competition. McKee said her daughter is already planning to enter more academic games events next year. “She is working on stuff she loves and learning at the same time,” McKee said.
Editor’s note: Allison Kenien is director of communications and marketing at Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High School.
