Students from across southeast Michigan came to Oxford Elementary School Saturday morning to flex their mental muscles and compete for academic glory.
The school played host to a tournament conducted by the Michigan League of Academic Games (MLAG).
A total of 104 students from eight schools spanning Ann Arbor to Novi played a series of games designed to test their knowledge in several different subject areas.
Covering math, English, social studies and logic, the primary purpose of the Academic Games is to make learning fun in subjects that students may find boring or unchallenging in the classroom setting.
Kids from the elementary level all the way through high school compete in the games.
A total of 24 students from Oxford Elementary, plus seven from Rochester playing for Oxford, competed in Saturday’s tournament.
‘This is the first year we’ve had this program,? said OES Principal Jeff Brown. ‘We’re just starting, so almost all of our kids are third-graders. Because it was new, we focused on the youngest kids (who could compete).?
Saturday was Oxford Elementary’s fourth tournament of the year.
‘We’ve been to two schools in Ann Arbor and then a school in Northville so far,? Brown said. ‘This is the first time we’ve hosted it.?
OES students will participate in two more competitions at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti and Jackson’s Northeast Elementary School before heading to the 37th annual MLAG state tournament, scheduled for March 9-11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.