PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2010
Contact: Karen Carrie
Saint Simon Parish School
Phone: (650) 968-9952 x 38
Saint Simon Parish School wins Fourteenth Annual Academic Junior High Decathlon for Diocese of San Jose
(Los Altos, CA, March 9, 2010) Saint Simon Parish School took first place at the Fourteenth Annual Academic Junior High Decathlon for the Diocese of San Jose held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose.
The Academic Junior High Decathlon is a competition for Catholic junior high students in grades six through eighth. Students demonstrate their academic prowess in two team events – a challenging Logic Quiz and a Super Quiz, and eight individual events, including Current Events, English, Fine Arts (Art and Music), Literature, Math, Religion, Science and Social Studies. Nine schools and one hundred forty five students participated in the March 6 event at Mitty.
Participating students from Saint Simon Parish School include Joey Bogart, Caitlin Crosby, Katherine deBettencourt, Alex Doan, Genna Carroll, Danica Crowley, Jodi Hinojosa, Rosie Mohammadi, Raymond Peck, Sara Perkins and Elliot Wilde.
Saint Simon took First Place Overall, First in the Logic Quiz, and Second in the Super Quiz. In addition to winning the overall competition, individual awards went to the following students: First Place in Current Events (Alex Doan), First Place in Literature (Caitlin Crosby), First Place in Math (Sara Perkins), Third Place in Science (Elliot Wilde), Fourth Place in Fine Arts (Joey Bogart), and Fifth Place in Religion (Katherine deBettencourt). The Saint Simon Academic Decathlon team will now go on to represent the Diocese of San Jose in the state championship on Saturday, May 1, 2010 in San Bernardino, California.
The Academic Junior High Decathlon Mission
The California Catholic Schools Academic Junior High Decathlon (AJHD) strives to bring forth academic talents and celebrate them in the context of spirit-filled competition. The Decathlon was designed to promote academic excellence, collaborative spirit and cooperative learning skills, logical and higher order thinking, and to recognize the contributions of parents, teachers, school administrators, and business and community members in supporting high standards for all students. The AJHD aims to celebrate the diversity, excellence, and tradition of Catholic schools.
History
The Catholic Schools Academic Decathlon was founded in September 1989 by Dr. Mark Ryan who was then a junior high teacher at St. Aloysius School in south-central Los Angeles. Dr. Ryan had a vision for an academic event to parallel the athletic competitions so prevalent in schools. What began as a tiny competition involving a handful of schools from the greater Los Angeles area has grown to become a statewide event involving Catholic junior high students from across California. The Decathlon is now under the guiding jurisdiction of the California Catholic State Superintendents Curriculum Committee.