Mansfield's 14th Annual Junior Jeopardy Tournament Continues the Tradition of Giving

     Mansfield High School was the place to be on Saturday. National Honor Society members from MHS administered a full day of Jeopardy competition between intense and highly motivated teams of elementary students from Jordan Jackson Elementary. This year's event raised over $7000 for the Friends of Dana Farber and the Noreen Katz Nursing Scholarship Fund.

     Elementary students from the third, fourth, and fifth grades organized themselves into teams, picked team names and designed posters and t-shirts to prepare for the day. More importantly, they solicited contributions from friends and family to raise money for two great causes.

     Since its inception, this event has raised over $170,000.  Junior Jeopardy was started in 1999 by a Jordan Jackson student whose mom was being treated in an isolation unit at Dana Farber. According to Caroline Cooney and Ellen Lea, Mansfield High School teachers and NHS advisors, the only communication she had with her family was via a video phone provided by the Friends of Dana Farber, a volunteer organization that raises funds to improve the quality of life for patients undergoing treatment. This young student started Junior Jeopardy to raise money to buy more video phones so that all families could find a little comfort by staying in contact with their loved ones. While the technology has changed, the mission of Junior Jeopardy has broadened…to raise funds for the Friends of Dana Farber and to fund a nursing scholarship in memory of Noreen Katz for whom this tournament was started.

     While everyone who participates is considered a winner, here are the individual champions of the final Jeopardy rounds by grade:

3rd grade - The Nerdbots: Alex Lea, AJ Seethana, Cole Baldasarre, Ethan Bruce 

4th grade - The Chubby Chipmunks: Matthew Connolly, John Carney, Shayna Menzer, Ryan Martin 

5th grade - The Purple Pickle Puppies: Nicole Penney, Mary Monticello, Catie McCarthy, Alanna Messier 

     Congratulations to all!