Eight TABC students, along with their advisor Dr. Garry Katz and TABC parent Ari Fishkind, recently travelled to the Washington D.C. area for the National History Bee and Bowl competition. TABC was the first yeshiva high school to compete in the regional competitions of the National History Bee and Bowl; the school had students qualify for the National Championship held in Arlington, Virginia the weekend of April 24. Nine TABC students qualified for the individual United States History Bee and the History Bowl, and both a junior varsity and varsity team qualified for the National History Bowl competition.
The teams could not participate in the National Bowl Championship, as it took place on Shabbat, but they did compete in a special open tournament held on Thursday afternoon. The TABC Junior Varsity Team, consisting of Yehuda Koslowe, Yosef Kahan and Zachary Ottenstein, proved to be the best team in the special tournament, capturing the Lorenz Cup. The Varsity Team of Yoni Katz, Orrin Kigner, Aaron Fishkind, Jeremy Rosenblatt and Meir Barg finished second in their special tournament.
On Friday morning six students competed in the United States History Bee of the top 100 varsity qualifiers from around the country. The vast majority of the seniors competing in the competition will be attending Ivy League schools, other top level colleges or Honors programs this coming September. TABC’s five varsity competitors (all juniors!) finished in the top two-thirds of the field. Orrin Kigner finished 25th, just missing the cut-off for the quarterfinals and Aaron Fishkind finished in 32nd place.
TABC could not compete on Shabbat and, therefore, missed the History Bowl Championship. However, the boys were able to enjoy a real college experience. They stayed in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington for Shabbat and attended shul and ate at the George Washington University Chabad rabbi’s apartment. There they had the opportunity to interact with Jewish students attending the university. After lunch, the team heard from an Orthodox student at George Washington University who had interned at the White House this past summer. It was fascinating to hear about an intern wearing his yarmulke at the White House.
On Sunday, six TABC students competed in the National History Bee, a competition which included almost 400 of the top history students in the country. The trip to D.C. was well worth it, and the students look forward to returning again next year. TABC’s history department is recognized as one of the finest in yeshiva high school circles, with the vast majority of its students in the AP U.S. History and Government class scoring the highest possible score of five. TABC is very proud of its students’ accomplishments.
