[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING CAMPOLINDO HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC DECATHLON CLUB UPON WINNING 
            THE 2013 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY ACADEMIC DECATHLON

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2013

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend 
Campolindo High School's Academic Decathlon Club for its recent success 
in the Contra Costa County Academic Decathlon, at which Campolindo's 
two teams won first and second place.
  The Campolindo High School Academic Decathlon Club provides students 
the chance to go above and beyond academically. Through fun 
competition, the Academic Decathlon Club members foster enthusiasm for 
education not only in themselves, but also in their peers.
  Participation in the academic decathlon has promoted and developed a 
range of skills, including team work, discipline, creativity and 
critical thinking. The Decathlon Club is training California's future 
leaders by helping ensure that our students will be qualified to join 
the workforce and grow our economy. It's clear that Campolindo High 
does an outstanding job of preparing these future leaders for a 
lifetime of success.
  I would like to submit for the Record a recent article in the Contra 
Costa Times recognizing Campolindo's impressive achievement.

  `Going Above and Beyond': Academic Decathlon Offers Another Kind of 
                              Competition

                            (By Lou Fancher)

       Moraga.--It was a repeat of last year's finish, as the top 
     three teams at Contra Costa County's 2013 High School 
     Academic Decathlon on Feb. 4 mirrored the winners of 2012's 
     competition.
       The ``Red Team'' from Campolindo High School in Moraga took 
     first place and will advance to the state competition March 
     14 to 17 in Sacramento.
       This year, as last, Campolindo's ``Blue Team'' placed 
     second, and Acalanes High School of Lafayette placed third 
     for the second straight year. Other teams competing in the 
     county decathlon were Antioch High, California (San Ramon), 
     Freedom (Brentwood), Las Lomas (Walnut Creek), Miramonte 
     (Orinda), Pittsburg and Dublin.
       California's Academic Decathlon pits nine-member teams 
     drawn from about 500 schools statewide in a frenzy of tests, 
     essays, speeches and interviews. Scrimmaging over art, 
     economics, music, language and literature, mathematics, 
     science and social science might sound like torture to many 
     high schoolers, but not to students like Campolindo's Zach 
     Scherer, this year's Top Overall Academic Decathlon 
     Individual Award winner.
       ``I like decathlon (club) because it's not a regular class, 
     with a teacher lecturing for 50 minutes,'' the 16-year-old 
     said. ``It's students, all interested in learning.''
       Paul Verbanszky, an advanced-placement psychology and 
     government economics teacher at Campolindo since 2004, leads 
     the school's decathlon club.
       ``I used to be able to barely field a team. Because we're 
     winning, more students have signed up. Now I have 40 students 
     at the start of a year,'' he said.
       The club's increasing popularity has little to do with 
     students aiming to shine on college applications, Verbanszky 
     said. Rather, the biggest motivators are the chance to excel 
     at something other than sports and ``going above and beyond'' 
     academically.
       Team co-captain Evelyn Steefel, 17, said it's just fun.
       ``The meetings are entertaining,'' she said, ``and there's 
     nothing like learning new, interesting facts.''
       Campolindo's two teams (schools with more than nine 
     students participating can form multiple teams) met three 
     times a week, beginning in September.
       This year's theme was Russia. With a mix of newbies and 
     veteran decathlon members, the students divvied up the study 
     guides democratically.
       ``We just put it up for whatever each person wanted to do 
     and made sure each section got done,'' Steefel said.
       A dizzying array of approaches, from PowerPoint 
     presentations to ``Jeopardy''-style games to pop quizzes, 
     staved off drudgery. Winning the decathlon is more than 
     facts; it's analysis and skillful test-taking, Scherer and 
     Steefel said.
       Scherer remembers the interview section of the competition 
     beginning with simple questions about his interests.
       ``I discussed the clubs I'm in, model United Nations and 
     math club, and how they have shaped who I am now,'' he said. 
     ``Then they asked, `How has being in U.N. shaped your 
     interest in diplomacy?'''
       Steefel used the decathlon's speech portion to talk about 
     hypocrisy in America.
       ``It's a country that promotes freedom and equality, but it 
     goes against those principles in its actions. The major thing 
     I talked about was slavery, but also affirmative action and 
     discrimination against women. I talked about the current 
     generation needing to stop hating, because we're not moving 
     together as a country.''
       The Super Quiz--during which teams work together, and a 
     roaring crowd of supportive family and friends is allowed--
     tested their knowledge of Sputnik 2. Another question 
     challenged them to compare and contrast two Russian 
     composers.
       ``First, you have to know about the specific facts,'' 
     Scherer said. ``Then, you have to know about the 
     controversies involved, the worldwide movements, the 
     complexities.''
       Verbanszky said it's not the two Campolindo teams' high 
     scores or crafty mental gymnastics he's most proud of.
       ``They care about the program, but also each other,'' he 
     said. ``Freshmen to senior--they help each other with 
     homework and talk about their problems. They've become 
     friends.''

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