MHS students and teachers faced off on the new trivia-based game show The ClassH-Room.
When Moorestown High School students are pitted against their teachers in a battle of wits, who emerges victorious? Both sides had a chance to find out when MHS students and teachers faced off on the new trivia-based game show The ClassH-Room.
Six students and six teachers squared off in episodes that aired on Fox29 on Oct. 4 and Oct. 22. While the students won one round and the teachers won another, ultimately it was Moorestown High School that emerged victorious with the school receiving a $500 check on behalf of the winning team each go-around.
MHS business teacher Adam Roth said he saw a promotion for the show back in May and met with administration. He explained the show had the potential to be a great way to bring the community together, and with administration’s approval, he submitted MHS for consideration.
In June, Fox reached out and said it was interested in featuring MHS on the show. So, Roth consulted his fellow staff to nominate students in grades nine, 10 and 11 to participate. He said they reached out to those students and made an additional announcement for anyone who was interested to come to a meeting.
Students were instructed to write an essay about why they would be a good representation of MHS and the greater Moorestown community. From there, staff chose one freshman, sophomore and junior to participate.
Naveen Shah, who was a freshman at the time, said he didn’t believe it at first when he was selected to participate. He said while there was no way to know what the show might ask, he downloaded Trivia Crack, a trivia application, practiced his response time and thinking like a game show contestant.
On Saturday, Sept. 22, the students travelled to Fox Studios in Philadelphia and filmed the show. For each show, three student contestants played against three teachers. The show is themed around the school day with segments like pop quiz, picture day, a spelling bee and a final exam. Contestants were quizzed on history, science, pop culture and other categories.
In the first episode that aired, students Kelly Moxhay, Naveen Shah and Dov McGuire-Berk battled teachers Lisa Trapani, Fred Bjornstad and Donna Tortu with the students winning. In the second episode, students Jacqueline Blizzard, Karan Parihar and Owen Lawton competed against teachers Roth, Mikal Lundy and Jessica Noguera with the teachers emerging victorious.
Shah said he was nervous when he arrived at Fox studios and not sure what to expect. He said those nerves quickly dissipated when he realized the competition didn’t feel any different than a teacher calling on him in class. He said he and his fellow students were able to edge out the teachers because there were several pop culture questions, and the show turned out to be a lot of fun.
“It really was a great experience to have with teachers outside the classroom,” Shah said.
Blizzard, a junior at MHS, said she was similarly nervous when she arrived. She also spent the summer playing Trivia Crack to prepare. She said the large studio setup had her taken aback, but everyone involved was very friendly and quickly put the students at ease.
“It was one of those experiences that went in a blink of an eye,” Blizzard said.
Despite not winning, the experience was still a positive one for Blizzard, who as well was grateful the money went toward good causes at MHS. The show’’s winnings went toward homecoming and offsetting the cost of events so all students can attend.
Everyone in attendance at the taping wore Moorestown proud T-shirts to lend their support.
“It was exciting to bring a sense of school community and pride to a larger audience,” Roth said.
To see the episodes in full, visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDojc2w_V9apJt1NBhrM5ww. To learn more about the ClassH-Room visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theclasshroom.
