A ‘friendly’ feud: Student teams compete in latest edition of Cardinal Games

Doree Ward doesn’t need much of an excuse to get dressed up. The Newton High School behavioral science teacher has a costume for nearly every occasion. She’s shown up at school events dressed as Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, an Oompa Loompa and even a TSA agent.

When fellow NHS teacher Brian Cleveland asked her if she’d be willing to dress up to host Family Feud, the latest competition in a series of Cardinal Games at the high school, Ward didn’t hesitate.

“He just said ‘you’ll do it won’t you,’ and I’ve got a closet full of costumes, some I’ve worn more than once,” Ward said.

Decked out in sartorial splendor with a tuxedo and a fake mustache, Ward watched students from competing teams race to finish in Family Feud. The event is part of Cardinal Games, an ongoing competition that Cleveland started this year at the high school. During the school year, teams of students have participated in a series of different challenges, including a scavenger hunt and a soda tasting competition. Cleveland’s goal is to get students working together. Each team is sponsored by a member of the high school’s staff.

“This is kind of an experimental first year. We want to see what works and what doesn’t,” Cleveland said.

If the interest is there, Cleveland said he’s hoping the administration at the high school will be willing to consider allowing Cardinal Games to become a formal club at the school. Even though this year is the first year for the event students have been bouncing ideas off Cleveland all year long for different competitions. Some of those events, like hosting a cardboard boat race, were deemed too ambitious for this year, but Cleveland said he’d like to see the group take on some of those challenges next year.

The contests got off to a strong start earlier this year, with more than 30 students showing up to compete in the soda tasting competition, but as the end of the school year approaches the number of students has dwindled. Some teams started with as many as 15 members, but on Tuesday only two teams showed up to compete in the Family Feud competition. Cleveland said he knew some students wouldn’t stick with the competition all year long.

“We knew there’d be a few that wouldn’t follow through because people are busy,” Cleveland said. “It’s hard to do Family Feud with only two people on a team.”

On Tuesday, NHS juniors Brittney McConnell and Katelyn Wallace were representing team Peters, named after Bill Peters, the high school’s principal. McConnell is one of the team’s leaders, and it’s her competitive spirit that’s driven the group to take home first place in most of the challenges this year.

“My favorite part is the winning, just the competition itself,” McConnell said. “It brings a lot of people together that you wouldn’t normally talk to.”

Even though student participation has trailed off, McConnell said she’s not ready to give up on the idea of Cardinal Games. She’ll be a senior next year, and on Tuesday she was already brainstorming ways to get her team to stay connected and stay motivated throughout the school year.

“We need to have good communication, that’s part of the teamwork itself,” McConnell said. “Our captain messaged everyone on the team, she was really organized.”

While Wallace will be the first to admit she isn’t as competitive as her teammate McConnell, she said she’s enjoyed participating in the different challenges Cleveland has developed this year. Part of the appeal Wallace said, is that the challenges are something all of the students at the high school have a chance to participate in.

“It’s not just something that athletic or popular or preppy people can do, it’s for everyone,” Wallace said.

Contact David Dolmage at
641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or
ddolmage@newtondailynews.com