Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies - Excalibur Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 87 text:

We need a long study break, now A C A D E M I C S Oui-of-school competi- tions are exciting and fun. giving students a chance to show their skills to other people, while competing against other schools. Although this competition can be scary, the experience is exhilarating. At my first speech and de- bate competition I was very ner- vous, but I lived through it. I stood up in front of all the peo- ple and just did my speech. I thought I would just die, but it ended up being a lot of fun, said Jason Menadue. Nervousness is a big part of the Academic Decathlon. Tak- ing written tests as well as tak- ing oral tests is what the Aca- demic Decathlon is all about. Studying is a major part of the preparation. Joining the Decathlon pro- vides a well-rounded overview of education. The Decathlon was a great experience for me to have. All of the studying in- volved with the competition will All of the studying involved with compe- titions will help in later life. • • also help me in later life, said Sandy Jaffe. The Academic Pentathlon is a lot like the Academic Decath- lon. The Pentathlon is for grades seven and eight, with nine teammates on a team. They all agree that all of the work they do is worth it. We study during lunch al- most every day and after school. Some of the team members think that this might be a lot, but it really is not. When they see what the competition is. they will realize that all the studying pays off. said Don LaFraniere, Coach. Mathcounts is the only out- of-school competition that deals with math. I feel that there should be more people on the Mathcounts team, said Dr. Marian Pasternack. Studying and testing are a very big part of being in a major competition at any level, said Theresa Pinhey. AnoH ' the ansner, call me — says Karen Lee as she raises her hand to answer the question at the Academic Decathlon competition. Karen Lee rated very highly on the Decathlon tests. She received an award for her scores. The other members of the team also scored high as a group and as individuals. Many awards were received by this group. Competitions q ' Academics O J

Page 86 text:

Decathlon banquet, yum — Decathlon team member Lea Jayasinghe looks at her certificate that she received. She eats her dinner with many other stu- dents from other schools that she com- peted against during the Academic De- cathlon competition. Hanging around — Between tests the Academic Decathlon team members stand around and wait for their next lest to begin. They wonder whether it will be an oral quiz or a written lest which is preferred by the teammates. Congratulations, — says Mr. Ed- ward Gershon as he shakes his student. Dean Taylor ' s hand. Mr. Gershon is the coach of the Academic Decathlon team, and he was very pleased to learn that his students ranked very highly in the Academic Decathlon competition. Study, Study, Study — is all that Sandy Jaffa is doing. She is studying for the Academic Decathlon. She stud- ies for oral as well as written tests. The Academic Decathlon is a competition and a class. Mr. Gershon is the head of both of these. Competitions Academics

Page 88 text:

Studying Pose — Chil Chin, meticu- lously graphs her functions from her calculus text. She finds that she must expend extra lime studying her theo- rems to fully grasp and decipher the concept of Rolle ' s theorem. The life of an aspiring Junior — Jeff Nodd is never far away from his books, whether he is enshrouded by the aca- demic atmosphere in class or the sce- nery of the campus, the junior assidu- ously attempts to achieve erudition. 4 Jl Lunatic on campus — Dean Taylor en- joys differentiation trigonometric func- tions in calculus and laughs about Hamlet ' s dilemma. When he ' s reallv in the mood for fun. he enjoys slandering our country ' s defied founders in his A.P Government class, but indeed each to his own. The Big Lie: Everyone kicks back dur- ing their senior year — With two A.P. Honors classes, seniors Itzik Shle- singer and Anita Pai spend 99 percent of their waking hours with a book. 84 Extra Study Classes Academics