The Brother Martin Academic Games Team recently competed in the New Orleans Academic Games League’s Propaganda Tournament. Students took part in three levels of competition—the Middle Division (grades 8 and below), the Junior Division (grades 10 and below), and the Senior Division (grades 12 and below)—and our Crusaders took home accolades in the individual and team competitions.
The Middle Division team, consisting of eighth graders Lucas Dobson, Robert Kennedy, Brock Moore David Nguyen, and Panu Sithisomwong, placed first in their division. The team finished with a 26-point lead over the second-place team. Four members of Brother Martin’s team finished in the Top 10 individually, including David Nguyen (8th), Brock Moore (8th), Panu Sithisomwong (6th), and Robert Kennedy (4th).
The Junior A team (Kyle Laurendine, Benjamin Matthews, Anton Stanovnov, and Justin Taravella) finished 2nd, the Junior B team (Jack Norwood, Phoenix Titus, and two Mount Carmel Academy students) finished 3rd, and the Senior A team (Colin Hill, Samuel Siegel, Andrew Taulli, and Peter Taulli) finished 3rd, in their respective divisions. Five students across those teams placed in the Top 10 individually, including Kyle Laurendine (4th) Benjamin Matthews (5th), Samuel Siegel (6th), Andrew Taulli (6th), and Peter Taulli (6th).
While playing Propaganda, students learn to recognize techniques of persuasion often used by advertisers, politicians, editorial writers, and in everyday conversations. Players increase their ability to discern the truth from “smokescreens.” They learn to figure out the reality of situations rather than getting duped by illogical arguments—improving their reasoning skills.
The complete results can be found on the NOAGL website: https://www.noagl.org/2023-
