Capistrano Valley High School - El Gato Yearbook (Mission Viejo, CA)

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A Dm takei a bSOmuieet 16% ▲ WARMING UP — Coach Ken Sayles gives the Academic Decathlon team a pep talk before their competition. ► CONSUMING INFORMATION — Sen- iors Jennifer Saporito, Jamie Atchison, and Heather Thornton listen and eat while Coach Ken Sayles lectures on. rwenty-one years ago, Robert Pe- terson, the Orange County Su- perintendent of schools, orga- nized a competition of skill and knowl- edge which would challenge students fronn all backgrounds. This competition was organized into ten sections, each testing a different aspect of the growing student. Today, this competition is called: Academic Decathlon. In order to be chosen for academic decathlon, coach Ken Sayles stated you have to be a well-rounded student. Well-rounded in academic decathlon means being an expert in ten areas: fine arts, literature language. Algebra 11 trigonometry, geography, economics, applied science, speeches, interviews, and the presidency. To prepare for these subjects, the team spends four months sacrificing four lunches a week. The hardest thing to do is to juggle lunch and regular school while you ' re cramming for competi- tions , said senior Cutie Lee, and Mr. Sayles practically xeroxed a new text- book for us to learn. But after all that hard work, Lee said, The competitions were sort of a let down after all the practice because once you ' re there you can only do your best. Even though the competitions were difficult, You get to go up against the best , said senior Jennifer Saporito. Even among the best the junior senior team finished in the top ten in the regionals and advanced to the finals where they finished 16th. Unfortunately, the seniors on the team cannot return to compete next year, but they can leave with the knowledge that they were one of the best teams Capo ever fielded in aca- demic competition. 64 Academic Decathlon

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Tup (bmjMk voMiik Non-participation of the members led to the dispersement of the science club, claims senior Alan Paul, presi- dent of the now defunct club. Originally an organization of twenty- five members including officers, the science club promoted opportunities for students to experience science through wildlife and outdoor field trips. According to Vice President Pe- ter Hartman, The club gave members opportunities to experience nature, which might ' ve sparked an interest as a career goal. Perhaps the outings might have attracted some students to ex- plore more in to the field, but for the time being, Catalina Island was as close to nature as they came. In the mean time, other trips such as one to Yosem- ite, await to be fulfilled. SCIENCE CLUB — Top row: Dave Rondinone, Deepak Cinandwani, Peter Ramirez, Jason Juha, Charles Cha, Aaron Brown. Second row: Sonia Marti Dae )in Kim, Alan Paul. Front row: Amy Dorman, )oey Liu, Advisor Joe Hartman, Rick in, Alan Bryan, Henry, Sherri A FIGURES OF AUTHORITY - Seniors Lori Quinton and Maha Najm direct a French club meeting as Vice President and President, respectively. The French club usually met once a month to plan various activities. Science French 63

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Academic Decathlon 65