[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 34 (Thursday, March 4, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF MOORPARK HIGH SCHOOL

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 4, 1999

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Moorpark High 
School, which, for the second consecutive year, will represent Ventura 
County in the Academic Decathlon California state finals on March 12.
  These 16 students are representative of the best and brightest our 
country has to offer. I say that without exaggeration. Moorpark High 
School's A Team is rated second-best in the country--quite a feat for a 
relatively small high school. And their coaches, head coach Larry Jones 
and assistant coach Michelle Bergman, are examples of what is right in 
our educational system today. Their dedication is to be applauded.
  Moorpark High School fielded two teams to compete in the Ventura 
County Academic Decathlon against the best and brightest from other 
country high schools on Feb. 6. At the end of the day, Moorpark High's 
two teams bested all the rest, coming in first and second.
  Now they are readying themselves to take on last year's state 
champion--El Camino High School, which is the only school rated higher 
than Moorpark in the nation.
  Unfortunately, because of contest rules, only Moorpark's A team will 
be able to compete in the state contest, even though the B team is 
rated higher than many of the other contestants. But rather than dwell 
on the unfortunate, the B team members are rallying their A team peers. 
These teen-agers are taking nothing for granted. For several weeks, the 
academic achievers have been studying at school until 10 p.m., then 
hitting a coffee shop or a student's home to study some more.
  The fine students representing the A team are: Valerie Lake, Mitul 
Patel, Ari Shaw, Arturo Barragan, Alexandra Dove, Rebecca Wershba, John 
Ellis and Nick Lange. The B team is represented by Shanna Gibbs, 
Tiffany Chou, Jennifer Lawrence, Shaun Berry, Tara Hernandez, James 
Marlier, Charles Pomerantz and Jason Sweitzer.
  On a personal note, let me add that Ari Shaw served as an intern in 
my office last year. The time he spent here apparently was positive: He 
won a gold medal during the contest for a speech on his experiences.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me in congratulating the 
Moorpark High School Academic Decathlon Teams for their achievements to 
date, and in wishing the A team great success in the state 
championships.

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