Greenfield students arriving at their library on Thursday, October 13 knew they were going to be playing Scrabble as part of the Philly Plays Scrabble® kick-off- but didn't know who their competitors were going to be.
When they were told they would be playing students from Science Leadership Academy (SLA), a magnet high school just a few blocks away on 22nd and JFK, a few of the students balked.
"I can't be playing students from SLA!" One student exclaimed, "I'm trying to get INTO that school!"
Scrabble® coordinator Marshall Bright explained that students would play kids their own age, but also reassured them that performance at the Scrabble® kick-off would in now way affect their high school admission chances.
However, a few confident Greenfield Scrabble players, who had been in the Scrabble® club for the past two years, said they were up to playing high schoolers.
As the SLA students entered the library, everyone began to get settled in, picking a board and an opponent. A few Greenfield students were good to their word and chose an older SLA competitor to match off against.
Introductions filled the library as Justin Ennis, ASAP's director, hushed the crowd of students to explain the rules and introduce the celebrity Scrabble® players, Greenfield principal Dan Lazar and PICA chair (Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority) Sam Katz. Justin also announced a special prize for the best Phillies or baseball related word in honor of the post-season. The prize had to be Phillies-related, of course: a brand new Phillies hat.
Justin reminded the students that words still had to be in the Scrabble® Dictionary - "Would Utley work?" He asked, and the students, all good Scrabble® players, answered in unison: "No!" Why not? "No proper nouns!" Dan Lazar, not afraid to hide his affiliation even among so many Phillies fans, asked if Red Sox words would count.
As soon as the rules were explained, students eagerly began flipping tiles, organizing racks, and playing words. ASAP staff wandered around with Scrabble® Dictionaries to settle disputes on "challenged" words.
Two boys, who had been determined to win since they saw Justin carrying in the hats, took an early and obvious lead by building off each other's words. When one boy played "base," his opponent added "ball." Then, "stadium" was immediately pluralized to "stadiums."
Clamoring over each other for final victory, the two friends vied for the Phillies hat. Thankfully, ASAP had two on hand, and for their excellent performance and teamwork even in competition, both boys went home with a new hat.
As for the seasoned Greenfield students who went "up to bat" against high schools students? Not only were they fierce competitors for their high school oponents, one Greenfield student even acted as a "pinch hitter" to Sam Katz, who graciously conceded victory to Mr. Lazar.
The event ended with Katz reminding students that Scrabble® is more about winning or losing, but about the skills gained along the way, something over 1,000 Philadelphia school Scrabble® participants learned last year. While the Phillies season ended days later, the 2011-2012 Philadelphia Scrabble® season is already off to a strong start.
More pictures of the Kick-off are located on ASAP's Facebook page here!
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