OSWEGO COUNTY – The Oswego County Academic Youth (OCAY) League kicked off the new school year with the “Golden Age of Piracy” competition that was held at Selkirk Shores State Park in Pulaski.
High school students from all nine Oswego County districts competed with their teams by building and racing pirate’s dinghies, going on a scavenger hunt quest and writing and performing sea shanties.
“Selkirk Shores was the perfect venue for a ‘Piracy’ themed event” said Caitlin Clark, Coordinator of OCAY League. “I’m also blown away by the students’ creativity and ability to work under very rigid time constraints.”
Denise Ivison and Jeff Manwaring, both retired teachers from Pulaski, along with Bernie Scahill, a retired teacher from APW, volunteered their time to judge the competition. They were given score sheets with specific criteria to follow for each challenge.
Once the scores were tallied the winning teams were announced. Team Pulaski took third place followed by team Hannibal in second. Team Oswego proved their wit and ingenuity when they brought home first place, thanks to Miles Bandla, Nathan Carr, Jack DelConte, Alaina DiBlasi, Cheyenna Gordon, Ian MacKenzie, Maggie O’Leary, Michael Paestella, David Pearson and Beatrice Rastley.
“I am incredibly proud of my students and was particularly impressed with their teamwork and creativity” said team Oswego’s advisor Kayley Morse. “They rose to the challenge and were phenomenal representations of our school and community.”
OCAY League was founded on the premise of academic excellence through the competition of schools in Oswego County. Teams are made up of eight to ten members and compete in several events throughout the school year, with the next event happening in mid-November.
