Chess club is for students in grades 3-8. The club meets on Tuesdays at 2:30-3:30. Students should know the basics of chess. Chess club teaches strategies and gives the opportunity to play and develop skill. Local chess tournaments will be promoted. The chess club coach is the head of the Drake University Chess Club, Jim Freerkesen.
Click here for 2024-2025 registration information.Middle school students meet once a week to learn the basics of public forum debate and compete in monthly tournaments at Dowling Catholic High School. Public Forum involves opposing teams of two, debating a topic concerning a current event. Proceeding a coin toss, the winners choose which side to debate (PRO or CON) or which speaker position they prefer (1st or 2nd), and the other team receives the remaining option. Students present cases, engage in rebuttal and refutation, and also participate in a “crossfire” (similar to a cross examination) with the opportunity to question the opposing team. Often times community members are recruited to judge this event.For more information, click here.
The Cubing Club is a popular after school club for students who know how to solve the Rubik's cube or want to learn how. The group meets after school on the first Wednesday of each month.
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Battle of the Books (BOB) is a reading incentive program for students. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers.
Students in grades 3rd-8th have the opportunity to participate in Battle of the Books. Students form teams of four to six students. Teams divide up who reads which books from a predetermined list. Students are responsible for becoming familiar with their books so they can answer questions about those books.
A typical “Battle” is a competition in which teams compete against each other by answering questions about the books on the book list. Building level competition takes place to determine which teams will compete in the Diocesan competition.