Extracurricular Opportunities in Lee County Schools
The AIG Department encourages all students to take advantage of as wide an array of extracurricular opportunities as they can. Participating in extracurricular activities can...
improve student academic performance,
broaden students' perspectives,
allow opportunities to explore interests in greater depth,
provide opportunities for cultivating positive character traits,
allow for social interaction,
develop life skills like goal setting, teamwork, and time management,
provide leadership opportunities,
and make a student well-rounded.
Lee County Schools offers many types of extracurricular programs falling into one or more of these categories: academics, arts, athletics, career and technical, leadership, and community service. The AIG Department assists with coordinating and hosting the following opportunities for students across the district:
Battle of the Books (Grades 4-12)
Students read a variety of popular contemporary novels from a statewide list from multiple genres (fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, autobiography, graphic novels, etc.) and compete in teams to see how well they remember and understand the novels.
This gives students a chance and a reason to read more literature outside of class, and it gives students a chance to discuss and enjoy these books in the company of their peers with the added fun of a competitive challenge!
Which books are we reading? Here are our booklists:
Chess Club (Grades 3-12)
Students learn the rules of this historic game and compete with each other in timed and untimed matches to test their strategic reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Some schools participate in local and statewide tournaments.
Check out our Chess Club pictures here!
Honors Societies (Grades 11-12)
Students who meet designated academic, service, and/or leadership criteria are invited to join and participate in a variety of honors societies available at our schools, including National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, and Beta Club.
National Mythology Exam (Grades 6 and 8)
Students in Advanced 6th Grade English Language Arts and 8th Grade English I complete two units of study related to Greek mythology and the persistence of classical allusions in literature to contemporary times. Students in Advanced 6th Grade English Language Arts read Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief as their anchor text for their unit on "Heroism," and students in 8th Grade English I read Homer's The Odyssey on "Intellect."
Students are able to register for the Pegasus Mythology Exam, given each year internationally in February or March to elementary and middle school students to test their knowledge of classical mythology.
All students answer 30 questions about Greek mythology, 10 additional questions on that year's theme in mythology, and 8th grade students answer 10 more questions about The Odyssey.
Students scoring highly on the exam may be eligible for certificates and bronze, silver, or gold medals based on their performance.
Quiz Bowl and WRAL Brain Game (Grades 9-12)
Students compete in teams in academic competitions (including virtual competitions and local and regional in-person competitions) where students are tested in their knowledge of a wide range of topics, from current events, pop culture, and sports to traditional subjects such as history, literature, the arts, the sciences, and mathematics.
Lee County Schools partners with Lee County Libraries, who host the annual Lee County Quiz Bowl Tournament each spring, in addition to various other activities throughout the school year.
Lee County Schools also regularly sends Quiz Bowl teams to participate in the televised Brain Game show hosted by WRAL.
Check out our Quiz Bowl pictures here!
Science Olympiad (Grades 4-12)
Students compete with partners in a handful of events in a track-meet-style competition where event topics vary across a wide range of science topics (biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science) and engineering tasks (building events, problem-solving events, experimental events). Students may explore these topics at greater depth and/or work on designing projects to meet certain specifications.
Elementary school students prepare throughout the year to compete in the Lee County Schools Science Olympiad.
Middle and high school students prepare throughout the year to compete in their events in a Regional Tournament in February or March; top winners can proceed on to the State Tournament in April.
There is always something new to learn, and there is always an event for you! Events are offered on a rotating basis each year and are published on the North Carolina Science Olympiad website.
Spelling Bee (Grades 3-8)
Third through eighth grade students at all elementary and middle schools are able to participate. This competition begins at the classroom level, and winners may advance to the school level, the district level, the regional level in a competition hosted by the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, or the national level in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Young Authors Contest (Grades K-12)
All elementary AIG Specialists and many other classroom teachers across the district participate in the Lee County Reading Association's Young Authors Contest, where students are able to submit and potentially publish original works of writing and art.