Seated: Niles Butts (team member), Bernie Moussad (team member) and Caleb Mayfield (team member); Second row: Bailey Thompson, Cole McCann and sponsor Molly Bates; Third row: Hunter James, Jake Williams (team member), Josh Williams (team member), Cameron DeArman (team member), Blake Williams and Daniel Jenkins; Fourth row: Josh Andrews, Jorge Gerado-Rendon, Austin Bohannon, Skylar King and Josh Pinkard.

Sometimes teachers and parents wonder if all that information their child is learning at school is really sinking in, but students at Russellville Middle School proved recently that all their hard work and studying is definitely not going to waste.
The RMS Scholars Bowl Team placed second in total points at the Alabama Scholastic Competition Association Middle School District Tournament on Jan. 28, which secured the team a spot in the state competition on Feb. 25.
Team sponsor Molly Bates said the RMS team competed against eight other teams in the North Alabama district in order to qualify for the state competition.
“These students have worked very hard and I’m proud of their accomplishments,” Bates said. “We meet every day to practice and we cover things that go above and beyond what the students cover in their regular classes so they will be prepared for all types of questions at the competitions.”
Bates said the students who are part of the Scholars Bowl teams had to qualify in order to be part of the class.
“We have a good group of kids this year that have really done well,” she said. “They’ve had to adapt to a new competition format this year and they really have to think fast and be confident in what they know.”
Besides reinforcing the things they have learned in the classroom and at practice, Bates said the team provides other opportunities for the students as well.
“Being part of Scholars Bowl is a team-building opportunity as well as an individual challenge,” she said. “The students have to trust their teammates during the competition and rely on their knowledge as well as be mentally prepared to contribute to the team personally and through individual challenges.”
Bates said they compete in two tournaments per month, one of which is through the Tri-County Scholars Bowl Association that includes schools in Franklin, Colbert and Lauderdale counties.
“We’re looking forward to the state competition and we will be practicing hard to hopefully bring back some awards for RMS.”