There is rarely a lack of youthful exuberance on OCU’s campus, especially once warmer temperatures arrive, but this spring the mood heightened even more as OCU hosted Battle Over Books for the first time in the event’s six-year history. Battle Over Books is a fierce, yet friendly, set of competitions among local middle and high school student teams: complete with buzzers and lighting rounds Nearly 60 high school students participated in the April 10th competition, representing Circleville, Logan, Logan Elm, Teays Valley and Westfall schools. The May 11th middle school rivalry involved more than 80 contestants from Canal Winchester, Everts, Groveport Madison, Hilliard Weaver, Logan-Hocking, New Lexington, and Westfall schools. Questions for the high school teams were drawn from 12 titles ranging from beloved classics such as The Hobbit, The Princess Bride, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, to Kristin Cashore’s debut fantasy Graceling, Alex Scarrow’s Time Riders science fiction series, and The Warren Commission Report: The Graphic Investigation into the Kennedy Assignation. A live-video conference with author Mindy McGinnis rounded out the day. She graciously spent more than an hour discussing her debut novel, Not a Drop to Drink, which was recently optioned for the big screen. Keenly attuned to her reading audience, McGinnis was hilariously offbeat and genuinely connected with the students. They held their own – gaining insightful and sophisticated queries about her characters, themes, and writing process. Slightly longer, but equally challenging, the middle school list of sixteen titles included The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candance Fleming, Prisoner B-3087 by Alex Gratz, and The War Brothers: The Graphic Novel by Sharon McKay and Daniel LaFrance. In an impromptu discussion at the end of the day, one student revealed how the graphic novel’s style influenced their own art-making. Others weighed-in on their reading and library habits, the surprise of loving books they had expected to hate, and the sense of team dedication that comes out of the competition. While the competition was indeed competitive - Circleville High School took the trophy for a second consecutive year, and Canal Winchester claimed the prize at the middle school level - the emphasis was on teamwork between students who simply love to read. Circleville teacher-librarian Trent Roberts put it well, “This is an awesome way to get kids reading and recognize them for their love of reading”. Kudos goes to Roberts and the other librarians, teachers, and volunteers whose own love of reading made the event possible. They included, Pickaway County Public Library Outreach Services/Public Relations Coordinator Michelle Callahan, Teays Valley H.S. teacher-librarian Lisa Campbell, Circleville High School Library Clerk Terri Carter, Logan Elm H. S. teacher-librarian Jarod Lloyd, Westfall Middle School librarian Cheryl Lorson, Logan-Hocking H.S. language arts teacher Ben Taulbee, and Friends of the Pickaway County District Public Library Sharyn Blecha, Carol Bowling, Elaine Cook, Sandy Edgar, Martha Erchenbrecher, Lynn Kraus, Jane Poulson, Paula Prindle and Gary Wasmer who served as scorekeepers, judges, and timers. It was a distinct pleasure to host Battle Over Books, and plans to host next year’s events are already in motion.
Archived Articles of Interest
Students further Kingdom at summer camps
Published: June 16, 2016
Ohio Christian University is excited to announce that our annual camp teams
have kicked-off for 2016. A group of 49 OCU students will be ministering to
27 camps this summer in seven different states—Ohio, Kentucky, New York,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia, and Indiana.
Students scheduled to serve have been hand-selected through an application
and interview process, as well as received over 50 hours of training in
preparation.
Student Camp Leader, Mekayla Deffenbaugh, shared her experience with camp
teams saying, "OCU Camp teams has given me the opportunity to expand my
comfort
Ohio Christian University is excited to announce that our annual camp teams
have kicked-off for 2016. A group of 49 OCU students will be ministering to
27 camps this summer in seven different states—Ohio, Kentucky, New York,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia, and Indiana.
Students scheduled to serve have been hand-selected through an application
and interview process, as well as received
Ohio Christian University is excited to announce that our annual camp teams
have kicked-off for 2016. A group of 49 OCU students will be ministering to
27 camps this summer in seven different
Area Students Compete in Reading Quiz Contest at OCU
Published: May 27, 2016
Ohio Christian University was honored to host the seventh annual Pickaway
County High School and Middle School Battle Over Books competitions on March
18th and May 9th, respectively.
A quiz-show style competition, where teams earn points by providing correct
titles to questions about books, provide a fun and challenging way to
recognize students for their love of reading.
All four Pickaway County high schools —Circleville, Logan Elm, Teays Valley
and Westfall —plus Logan Hocking High School competed in this
year’s high school event. The middle school challenge included Canal
Ohio Christian University was honored to host the seventh annual Pickaway
County High School and Middle School Battle Over Books competitions on March
18th and May 9th, respectively.
A quiz-show style competition, where teams earn points by providing correct
titles to questions about books, provide a fun and challenging way to
recognize students for their love of reading.
All four Pickaway
Ohio Christian University was honored to host the seventh annual Pickaway
County High School and Middle School Battle Over Books competitions on March
18th and May 9th, respectively.
A quiz-show
Students serve with World Gospel Mission in Argentina
Published: May 16, 2016
Ohio Christian University students had the opportunity to minister abroad in
Argentina during Spring Break 2016. Professor Jamey Gremillion, OCU’s
Intercultural Ministries Director, led the team of six, which included
Liliana Burgos, Ben Caplan, Andrew DeMint and Lindsey Lawler, along with
Jammie Wilhelm, who serves as an AGS Director and Professor.
The team had the privilege of remodeling a kitchen for an elderly woman who
feeds nearly 60 neighborhood children every weekday. In two days, the team
removed the old cabinets, storage area and counter-tops, replacing them with
a custom-
Ohio Christian University students had the opportunity to minister abroad in
Argentina during Spring Break 2016. Professor Jamey Gremillion, OCU’s
Intercultural Ministries Director, led the team of six, which included
Liliana Burgos, Ben Caplan, Andrew DeMint and Lindsey Lawler, along with
Jammie Wilhelm, who serves as an AGS Director and Professor.
The team had the privilege of remodeling a
Ohio Christian University students had the opportunity to minister abroad in
Argentina during Spring Break 2016. Professor Jamey Gremillion, OCU’s
Intercultural Ministries Director, led the team of
OCU WGM Paraguay Task Force Team Report
Published: May 13, 2016
When I first began planning our 2016 OCU WGM Task Force Teams, I knew right
away that this was the team God planned for me to lead. There were no
lightening bolts, no clear direction other than this was the one.
I had the privilege of getting to know my university team members well:
Austin Caldwell, Barbee Graves, Haley Robbins, Austin St. Pierre, Kiirsten
Truex and Andrea Williams. (Yes, we had a high rate of name repetition for
such a small group and, yes, we managed to have to some fun with it along the
way!)
Raising funds for our trip was easy…for some on our team, and for others
When I first began planning our 2016 OCU WGM Task Force Teams, I knew right
away that this was the team God planned for me to lead. There were no
lightening bolts, no clear direction other than this was the one.
I had the privilege of getting to know my university team members well:
Austin Caldwell, Barbee Graves, Haley Robbins, Austin St. Pierre, Kiirsten
Truex and Andrea Williams. (Yes, we
When I first began planning our 2016 OCU WGM Task Force Teams, I knew right
away that this was the team God planned for me to lead. There were no
lightening bolts, no clear direction other than
OCU WGM Argentina Task Force Team 2016
Published: May 13, 2016
On February 5, 2015, a WGM Missionary couple serving in Argentina came to
OCU’s Global Café and shared their vision for reaching young adults. Due
to the sensitive nature of their work, we will not use their names. Their
ministry was so exciting to our students and Professor Gremillion that they
returned to OCU on the following Monday and Tuesday to speak in a few select
classes.
This couple has discovered a unique way to implement a program similar to
what has been called Community Health Evangelism (CHE) at WGM. This type of
outreach seeks to meet the felt needs of non-believers in
On February 5, 2015, a WGM Missionary couple serving in Argentina came to
OCU’s Global Café and shared their vision for reaching young adults. Due
to the sensitive nature of their work, we will not use their names. Their
ministry was so exciting to our students and Professor Gremillion that they
returned to OCU on the following Monday and Tuesday to speak in a few select
classes.
This
On February 5, 2015, a WGM Missionary couple serving in Argentina came to
OCU’s Global Café and shared their vision for reaching young adults. Due
to the sensitive nature of their work, we will not
