They call Queens ‘the worlds borough,’ and it’s Queens time here are the Circle! All this week, the New York Videogame Critics Circle is proud to present the finalists for the Minecraft Education: Battle of the Boroughs. Below, we present Queens’ elite competitors.

Additionally, the Circle’s Playing With Purpose Program is part of the Battle with its own Minecraft Writing Challenge. On June 8, the Circle’s Ryan O’Callaghan will announce four Minecraft Writing Challenge winners at 12:30 pm during the Mayor’s Cup Finals on June 8, presented by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, at the recently-renovated Brooklyn Public Library. The event takes place all day long and is free to all. The lucky winners of the Minecraft Writing Challenge will get a cash prize – and bragging rights for the year.

For months now, students across the boroughs have been busily competing to win the big battle. According to the Mayor’s Office, here’s more detail: “Building on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done (GSD), the city’s strategic climate plan, and the Mayor’s Digital Gaming Initiative, student teams will compete to create the most inclusive future-ready city spaces. Mayor Adams’ video message is right here.

Each borough has determined 3 teams (one K-5 grade team, one 6-8 grade team, and new this year a 9-12 grade team).”

We are super happy to present these superb Queens finalists! 

QUEENS FINALISTS: 

• Division: Elementary School
  • School: PS 239Q (24Q239)
  • Principal: Nina Morris |
  • Coach: Brenda Henriquez |
  • Team Name: Ridgewood Rattlers
  • Location: 17-15 Weirfield St, Queens, NY 11385

Team photo:

• Division: Middle School
  • School: I.S. 125 Thom J. McCann Woodside (24Q125)
  • Principal: Matthew Borelli |
  • Coach: Fritzie Fulay-Panganiban |
  • Team Name: Woodside Wolves 
  •  Location: 4602 47th Ave, Woodside, NY 11377
  • NYVGCC questions:

• Why did you choose your team name?
  We chose our team name because it represents our school.
• Why did you choose this design/what is it?
  We chose the design for our builds because we used the guidance of the rubrics and the provided prompt to focus on. We then divided up the work based on what each person was confident in completing.
• Team photo: 

• Division: High School 

• School: High School for Arts & Business (24Q550)
• Principal: Ana Zambrano Burako |
• Coach: David Di Maggio |
• Team Name: Bedrock Bulls
• Location: 105-25 Horace Harding Expy N, Queens, NY 11368
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