Schmucker Middle School students compete locally, statewide, and nationally in various academic contests. Some contests run during school, some are extra-curricular.
Honors math classes participate in the Indiana Math League contest in February and the American Mathematics Competition in November. SMS and Penn students have won scholarships through the AMC.
The Indiana Academic Spell Bowl competition, sponsored by the Indiana Association of School Principals, brings spellers from hundreds of Indiana middle and high schools to the table for a fun study. Students in grades 6-8 learn from a list of some 1600 words, with eight students each spelling nine words. SMS students have won three state championships, most recently in 2014 and 2015. Spell Bowl begins at the beginning of the school year, and runs until November.
MathCounts, a program sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers, is dedicated to providing a math competition that is challenging, relevant, and fun. Ten SMS students in grades 6-8 have the chance to compete at Notre Dame in local competition in February, with the opportunity to advance to state or even national competition. The national competition has grown to being featured on ESPN. MathCounts practices typically begin in late October. For more information, visit Mathcounts.org.
The Indiana Academic Super Bowl competition, sponsored by the Indiana Association of School Principals, creates five different teams for English, math, science, and social studies, along with a combined interdisciplinary group. These teams have three to five students each. The different teams begin their practices in late fall or early winter and compete in late April or early May. SMS teams have won many state championships in all areas, including three in 2015.
