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Parent Meeting

Wednesday, September 17th @ 5:30 p.m.

Heritage Elementary Library

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General Information

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Coaches

Melissa Crooks

melissamcrooks@gmail.com

(720) 300-2298

Ali Reykdal

areykdal@dcsdk12.org

***Always email both coaches to make sure one of us gets the communication in a timely manner***

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What is Battle of the Books?

  • Battle of the Books is a bowl-style trivia tournament that's all about books, engaging hundreds of young minds every year.
    • 10 Books per team
    • Books are usually matched (similar themes, settings, experiences, etc.)
    • Teams are asked 10 questions in a battle and they must answer with only authors and titles.
    • Practices go from September through March
    • Battles occur January through March
  • Dozens of teams in grades 3-6 compete against each other in interschool battles and finals tournaments to determine a districtwide champion for all of Douglas County.
  • Some books may contain content that can be difficult for some readers

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What do questions look like?

  • In the form of “In which book . . . “
  • Cover small, minute details within books (not big themes)
    • I.e. Food, clothing, the way some looks, what something smells like, colorful language
    • Question Examples:
      • In which book does someone shake with anger when they hear their best friend lying?
      • In which book does a character like to put chocolate syrup on rice?
      • In which book are siblings transported across town in a car that smells of stale smoke?
      • In which book is a character wearing overalls with a hole in the front right pocket?
      • In which book does a soft furry creature cuddle up next to someone to comfort them?
  • Avoid proper nouns (names of people, places, things) and words related to the title.
    • Think about how to describe a dog, Paris, mother, etc without using the words.

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Responsibilities

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Student Responsibilities

  • Read (or listen) to 10 Books by January 2026
  • Memorize author/title (correct pronunciation)
    • scroll to bottom of the page
  • Students are REQUIRED to update on their progress by filling in a weekly check in form
  • Become an expert (assigned later in the season)
  • Write questions!
    • It is REQUIRED that each student prepare and submit 10 practice questions every week - each set of 10 questions earns them a raffle ticket!
    • All students must request permission to edit their teams workbook. Please do this as soon as possible - definitely prior to the night before practice!
  • Complete practice sets (these will become available later in the season)
  • Come to practice and battles with a great attitude!

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How to Accomplish the Reading

    • We have a set of 10 books that students can check out on a weekly basis (parents can monitor whether their student has a book using this sheet)
    • Audiobooks (Libby, Hoopla, Playaways)
    • eBooks (Libby, Hoopla, Epic, etc)
    • Your Lucky Day copies located in the children’s section of any DCL library

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Parent Responsibilities

  • Sign your student(s) up for Battle of the Books (link)
  • Sign BOTB contract (link)
  • Stay Informed - read the Weekly Update each week (link)
  • Encourage students to read
  • Get students to practice and battles
  • Get students to competitions
  • Communicate with coaches of any sudden absences or if your student will be late to practice
  • Reach out with questions

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Coach Responsibilities

  • Read books and write questions
  • Guide students through effective conflict resolution
  • Lead discussions in effective problem solving techniques
  • Help build student confidence
  • Create a safe space for students to thrive independently and as a team

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Season Expectations

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Weekly Meetings

  • Wednesdays @ 7:30 a.m. in the Heritage Library- Starting September 24, 2025
    • please text Melissa if your student is running late or will miss practice
    • Please stay home if you are sick

  • Exceptions:
    • In the event school is not in session, we will do our best to reschedule the meeting to another weekday.
    • In the event of a delay, practice is canceled.

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Typical Battle of the Books Meeting

  • Review strategy
  • Practice questions
  • Practice being speaker (everyone gets a chance to be speaker in practice!)
  • Review previous battle

*The first few meetings will be slightly different.

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Behavior Expectations

  • Bring a positive attitude each week
  • Great listener
  • Have fun
  • We expect students to be kind, respectful to each other and to coach(es)
    • 1st warning - student
    • 2nd warning - parent/student
    • 3rd warning - parent/student
    • 4th warning - no longer participate
  • During battles, it is imperative both the students, and their families in the audience, control your voice and your body – penalties may occur

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Pre Qualifying and Qualifying Tests

  • There may be a pre qualifying test to narrow the teams down to 10 players
  • There may be a qualifying test to narrow the teams to our final 7-8 players

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Competitions

  • Typically begin late January/early February
  • In the past, held on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays
  • Arrive approximately 15 minutes before battle
    • alternate assigned if not at the library 10 minutes prior to battle
  • please text/call Melissa if you are running behind or something comes up
  • Generally, battles last no more than 30 minutes
  • Four battles in a regular season (held at the Highlands Ranch Library - upstairs)
  • Opportunity for playoffs based on regular season battle results

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Team Composition on Battle Days

  • Five team members per battle (One member – Speaker)
  • Spectator - team members that are cheering on the team during the competition (sit with coaches)
  • Battler - one of five team members answering questions during the competition (sit in huddle)
  • Speaker - one of the five battlers who will provide the librarians the team’s answer during the battle
  • All team members are expected at every battle (spectators and battlers unless previously arranged with coaches)

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Team Selection

  • Completion of books- each book they complete earns them a raffle ticket!
    • Students who have not completed all the books by January 2026 will not be a battler during the season. They will will be spectators, cheering on the team with the coaches.
  • Attendance
    • please let us know if your student(s) will not be here for any practice or battle
  • Behavior
  • Sportsmanship
  • Scores on practice sets (if applicable)- each practice set they take earns them a raffle ticket!
    • These will be posted later in the season.

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Season Wrap Up

  • After both teams have completed their seasons, we will have a celebration during our regularly scheduled practice time (TBD on actual date).
  • The celebration includes food, fun, gift cards, and a bit of friendly competition.
  • Highlight of the season!!

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We Need You!

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Volunteer Opportunities

  • Help read questions during practices (if a coach will be out)
  • Write questions for a book (Guide to Writing Questions)
  • Donate gift cards of any value for raffle prizes

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What’s Next?

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Stay Informed

Primary communication:

  • Our BOTB website (link)
    • Updated each week (it is the student and parent responsibility to check this each week - after the first week, we will not be communicating through email regularly)

Secondary communication:

  • Email (obtained via the sign up form)
    • Used in case an action item is needed from coaches sooner than the following practice meeting time (i.e. shirt size, last minute update from the library, advancement during the finals, etc)

Emergency Communication:

  • Text (obtained via the sign up form)
    • Used for urgent needs (i.e. student emergency, coach cannot read parent via email, etc)

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Next Steps

  • Sign students up for the activity
  • Complete the contract with your student
  • Anyone accessing the questions banks, needs to request permission as soon as possible.
  • Read, read, read!
  • Students attend practice!
    • starting Wednesday, September 24th @ 7:30 a.m. in Heritage Library