Boys Town youth participated in fun activities that tested their knowledge and teamwork skills during the Wegner School Olympics.

“We like to keep the kids involved in current events as much as possible,” said Cathy DeSalvo, Boys Town’s Wegner School Principal. “The Olympics are a great way to teach them about different countries and since they participated on teams with kids they weren’t used to working with, it also gave them the opportunity to work on their teamwork skills.”

Children from different grades joined together to form teams that represented six countries. Each team created a flag for their country to display in the opening ceremony and parades. The teams then competed in events, each day featuring a different area of study.

The challenges began on Math Day, which included a distance contest for throwing javelins made of straws and paper clips and other events designed to test the youths’ knowledge of measurements. The teams then raced against time on Writing Day with a scavenger hunt for specific types of newspaper articles. Reading Day rounded out the competition with a Jeopardy game that quizzed the kids about novels they read this summer and the upcoming Olympics in China.

“The events are a really fun way to measure what the kids have learned,” said DeSalvo. “It’s encouraging for faculty and Family-Teachers to know that our youth are truly absorbing what is taught in the classroom.”

Australia and Canada earned the overall top scores, but all teams received awards and participated in a closing ceremony. The extinguishing of an “Olympic flame” signaled the end of the festivities as another summer session at Wegner School comes to a close.