Student Competitions

Lovett students have the opportunity to participate in the following enrichment programs that are of a competetive nature:

       Odyssey of the Mind
          Who?     3rd - 5th graders, by teacher recommendation
        What?    Division I OM teams
         When?   Friday 3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
         Where?  Mrs. Martin's room TBS5
         Why?    To create, to solve, to imagine, to stretch your mind, and to have FUN!
The Odyssey of the Mind teaches students to learn creative problem-solving methods while having fun in the process. By tapping into creativity, and through encouraging imaginative paths to problem-solving, students learn skills that will provide them with the ability to solve problems--great and small--for a lifetime. The Odyssey of the Mind teaches students how to think divergently by providing open-ended problems that appeal to a wide range of interests.

In Odyssey of the Mind....

• Students learn to work together and develop team-building skills.
• Students learn to examine problems and to identify the real challenge without limiting the possible solutions and their potential success.
• The creative-thinking process is nurtured and developed as a problem-solving tool.
• Students of all types will find something that will appeal to them.
• The fun of participation leads to an elevated interest in regular classroom curricula.

For more information visit the Odyssey of the Mind web site.
www.odysseyofthemind.com

ABC Spelling Bee

Lovett Elementary has been known for some time as a hotbed of competitive spelling!  Three times, a spelling champion from Lovett has captured the Houston ISD crown.  We have also placed second, and third in East Texas.  This is actually pretty remarkable when one considers that our elementary representatives are competing against students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades!
      Our team consists of volunteer students from second through fifth grade.  Rookies meet every Monday morning from 7:30A.M. until 8:00 A.M. in mini contests to discern how well the previous list of words has been mastered.  Veterans meet every Tuesday and Friday, and follow the same procedure as the rookies, albeit with longer lists of words.
      The primary objective of the team is to produce a winner at the campus level who is also capable of competing at Area.  Our school Bee is held in December.  This is a very public contest, held in the cafetorium with all second, third, fourth, and fifth grade students present.  Naturally, parents are in attendance, too.  Trophies are accorded first, second, and third place winners, with participant ribbons given to all contestants.
      Once the school champion has been determined, the individual, runner-up and sponsor begin working on a daily basis, in order to prepare for the Area Bee, which is normally held in February.  Should our participant "place" at that level, he or she advances to the East Texas Contest.
      Competitive spelling is a rigorous sport.  It requires intelligence, a "good ear", and above all, hard work.  We have been fortunate at Lovett to achieve success in this area because of the right mix of the aforementioned ingredients.

Name That Book Contest

The Name That Book Contest is a highly competitive event sponsored each year by H.I.S.D.'s Library Services Department.  At Lovett, interested  2nd graders and 4th and 5th graders may obtain the Name That Book list from the librarian or from this website. They are encouraged to read as many books as possible from the list.  In early Spring, students compete to be part of the team by taking a test which consists of a question from each book on the list.   The top six  students win spots on the Name That Book Team, and the seventh student is named as the designated alternate. 

Once chosen, the team meets once a week from 2:15 P.M. till 2:45 P. M. with the sponsor, Mrs. Coulthard, in the library to discuss books and prepare for the district contest which is held annually in the spring.

Geography Bee

Students in grades 4 and 5 are given a written Geography Test and the top students compete in an oral Geography Bee in the cafeteria.