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School News | Saturday, October 23, 2021

St. Theresa, Mother of Christ take top prize at Academic Olympics

Eighth graders from a dozen elementary schools compete at St. Brendan High

MIAMI | St. Theresa School in Coral Gables and Mother of Christ in Miami were the top finishers in the 2021 Academic Olympics hosted by St. Brendan High School.

St. Theresa’s Musketeers won their third consecutive first place trophy in the Large School Division while amassing 8 gold medals, 3 silvers and 1 bronze. Placing second and third, respectively were St. Brendan Elementary and St. Kevin schools, both in Miami.

The principals of the winning schools at St. Brendan High School's Academic Olympics, Carmelite Sister Rosalie Nagy, of St. Theresa School in Coral Gables, and Yesi Feria De La Torre, of Mother of Christ School in Miami, pose with their respective first place trophies after the competition, Oct. 20, 2021. St. Theresa won first place in the Large School Division, Mother of Christ in the Small School Division.

Photographer: COURTESY

The principals of the winning schools at St. Brendan High School's Academic Olympics, Carmelite Sister Rosalie Nagy, of St. Theresa School in Coral Gables, and Yesi Feria De La Torre, of Mother of Christ School in Miami, pose with their respective first place trophies after the competition, Oct. 20, 2021. St. Theresa won first place in the Large School Division, Mother of Christ in the Small School Division.

Mother of Christ’s Crusaders won the first place trophy in the Small School Division, earning 8 gold medals, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze. Placing second and third, respectively, were St. Hugh in Coconut Grove and St. John Neumann in Miami.

During the Oct. 20, 2021 event, eighth-graders from a dozen Catholic schools in Miami-Dade County tested their knowledge in 13 subjects, ranging alphabetically from art to visual and performing arts, and including: English, Spanish, law and global business, math, science, social studies, general knowledge, STEM, physical education, medicine, and religion.

Even with masks and limited participation, the competitive spirit between the schools was alive and well in the St. Brendan gym as the winners in each category were announced. With students cheering on their classmates and parents watching on a livestream, the joy of normalcy returned for these gifted students from across the archdiocese.

The Academic Olympics have been a tradition at St. Brendan High for a number of years, although the pandemic interrupted the tradition last year. Teachers help the eighth-grade competitors study for weeks to prepare for their subject-area tests. At the end, the top three students in each category, and each division, male and female, receive a medal for their hard work.

“We are so proud of the achievements of our students because they and their teachers worked so incredibly hard,” said Father Manny Alvarez, pastor of St. Theresa School and Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables. “I wasn’t able to go but was glued to the livestream in my office and was cheering on each one of the kids when their names were announced as if I was there in the gym. We can’t wait to go defend our title next year!”

“We are extremely proud to be blessed with such dedicated teachers and students and to have such great support from parents and the parish community,” said Yesy Feria De La Torre, Mother of Christ’s principal.

Other schools that competed were: Blessed Trinity, Miami Springs; Holy Rosary-St. Richard, Cutler Bay; Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary, St. Agatha, St. Timothy, and Sts. Peter and Paul, all in Miami.

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