Students work together with their IBESTs as they complete problems during the Countdown Competition on Wednesday, Jan. 31. “For our academic event, we decided on the popular math game, ’24,’ because the majority of people have played it before. People really got into it and enjoyed it, even if it was stressful at moments,” Class of 2027 historian Maya Umerov-Todoroki said. “There was a lot of participation between the IBESTs, and the Countdown Competition turned out really good.”
The 2027 Class Council hosted an Integrated Biology, English, Statistics, and Technology (IBEST) Competition as a week-long event. “IBET Wars,” the inspiration for the IBEST Olympics, was a previous freshmen class tradition up until the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not been revived until this year.
Unique to Jefferson, IBEST consists of back-to-back Biology, English, and Technology classes freshmen take with the same rotation of students. IBEST rotations provide students an opportunity to work in groups across classes and build stronger friendships throughout the transition to Jefferson.
The 2024 IBEST Olympics, nicknamed “The BEST of iBEST,” took place from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. Seven different IBEST cohorts competed head-to-head to earn the most points by the end of the week through participating in competitions, spirit days, and the pep rally held at the end of the week.
From the Scavenger Hunt to the Online Art Competition, students showcased their different talents and class spirit through a variety of events. The IBEST Olympics brought the freshman class together as an opportunity to collaborate, connect with others, and take a fun break from the stressful academic environment at Jefferson.
The Le/Levy IBEST hypes up their representatives for the Sharks and Minnows Competition during the pep rally on Friday, Feb. 2. For freshman Class Council sponsor and biology teacher Lien Le, her IBEST winning the entire IBEST Olympics was no surprise. “The class of 2027 has a lot of bright and skilled freshmen, but I think it's great that showing up as a group, more so than being the best at art, math, or catching an egg (which, we were not good at), is what allowed us to start and stay in the top three all week,” Le said.
As a whole however, the entire freshman class was able to bond throughout the week-long event. “I'm really happy that Class Council was able to use their position in the school to cultivate a greater sense of community. All of us at TJ can get into a routine of just worrying about schoolwork, and that isn't what I would want to be everyone's sole memory of having been here,” Le said. “I'm proud of the Class Council for reviving an old tradition and making it enjoyable and positive for everyone who was able to attend the events.”
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