Posted by: Bethany on 02/02/2008 03:12 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 02/03/2008 11:21 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
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Mother Lode Teens Compete for Academic Decathlon Regional Title (updated with scores) ~ By Bethany Monk
Angels Camp, C.A....The Academic Decathlon is about the journey, not the destination, according to Celeste Wychopen, one of the 55 high school students participating in the 26th Annual Regional Decathlon Feb. 2 at Bret Harte High School in Angels Camp...
A group of Bret Harte students takes a brief break
in between tests during Saturday's Decathlon.
High schools participating in Saturday's event, which began at 10 a.m. and will run until about 4:30 p.m., include: Bret Harte High School, Mountain Oaks High School from San Andreas and Summerville High School from Tuolumne (just outside Calaveras County).
Mountain Oaks School took first place in Calaveras County with 32,408 points; Tuolumne took first place in Tuolumne County with 36,291 point. Both teams will compete in the state Academic Decathlon later this year. Bret Harte came in third with 27,749 points.
Each year, the National Academic Decathlon Competition focuses on a different theme; this year's theme is the Civil War. Students throughout the country study for countless hours in a Decathlon class during or after school with a teacher who acts as a facilitator helping students study for the big day. Many students also form study groups. Some even begin studying for the competition as early as the summer.
"I like learning about everything at once," said Summerville junior Adam Mantzouranis, he referring to the cross-curriculum nature of the Decathlon. Students compete in 10 events from Art to Science. Each subject revolves around the competition's yearly theme.
"There are no real boundaries," Mantzouranis said of the curriculum.
"People think you're crazy," Wychopen, said, noting the day of Decathlon quizzes, essays and oral test.
"The journey's worth it," she said. "I've learned things I didn't even know I didn't know."
"It looks good on transcripts," added Cindy Medina, a Bret Harte senior who will attend George Washington University next fall where she will major in political science and law.
"I think it teaches them the rigors they need to have beyond high school," said Scott Nanik, a volunteer Decathlon judge and principal of Mountain Ranch Community School in Mountain Ranch.
"They get to practice skills they don't always get to (in the classroom) and get to learn how the real world works," and "rattle" off and present knowledge at a moment's notice, Nanik said. "They've been a very gracious, great group," he added.
Local champions from today's event will compete in the state Academic Decathlon in Sacramento March 7-10. State champions will compete in the national finals April 30-May 3 in Orange County, C.A.
Calaveras and Tuolumne Academic Decathlon teachers who have worked numerous hours with their respective teams include Amy Avrit from Bret Harte, Trisha Meyer from Mountain Oaks, and Jim Micheletti from Tuolumne High.
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