James Madison High School - Prospectus Yearbook (San Diego, CA)

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Straining Your Brain The Academic Decathalon was one organization not very familiar around campus, but gaining more recognition each year. It's purpose was to promote educational excel- lence and academic experiences. Madison's team consist- ed of student volunteers, organized by Mark Wolfe and Andrea Jankovich, helped the students where ever they different schools in the San Diego district. The competi- tion was held at Palomar college on November 14. From the time school began to the day of competition, the students worked hard and prepared themselves with specific topics, such as poetry, music, physics, and eco- nomics. A few MHS teachers, including Mark Wolfe and Andrea jankovich, helped the students where ever they needed it. Every school's Academic Decathlon team had nine people for each of the three G.P.A. catagories: Varsi- ty, ranking 0.00 to 2.99; Scholastic, ranking 3.00 to 3.74; Honors, ranking 3.75 to 4.00. One Academic Decathlon team member, Michael Davis, mentions, The Decathlon was a good experience. It taught that hard work and persistance pays even though s. the odds were totally against us. Whether or not the r-T) decathlon team made it to the championships, the stu- dents themselves had something to celebrate. Just like vs-' Michael Davis said, the hard work and determination definetely paid off by increasingthe academic skillj-pf th£ nine.MHS student 1 Paul Eisan Michael Elliott Anthony Engebretson Susana Esparza Jason Eldridge Brad Endicott Stacey Ennis Susana Espinosa

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Temporary Visitors In The San Diego Zoo Le Duong Jeanette Edwards Did you see the Giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo? If you didn't, you missed a great opportunity to see the only pandas on display on the West Coast. Basi, and Yuan Yuan were brought from the Fuzhou Zoo in China for 200 days to stay in San Diego from July to February. Accompaning the pandas for their stay were their two keepers from the Fuzhou Zoo. While on exhibit, both bears performed a total of 15 behaviors. Some of them included: riding a bicycle, twirling a baton, and even pushing a baby stroller. Jenifer Cain, a junior at Madison who visited the pandas said that “The pandas were adorable. They looked like big, black and white teddy bears! The enclosure for the Chinese animal guests cost nearly $500,000. The money was made possible by donations from a number of companies. The building had central air conditioning, a kitchen, two large bedrooms, a swimming pool, and a landscaped living room. The structures were built in a hectic six weeks. The panda Plaza covered one and a half acres, including 1,200 feet of exhibit area. The yard was divided by bars into two rooms. Each panda had its own viewing area. Pandas are solitary animals and if kept together in captivity might become aggressive. The viewing area allowed 150 spectators to view the bears. The daily diet of the bears consisted of 22 pounds of bamboo, fruits, whole grains, and vitamin supplements. Available in the gift shops were 200 different varieties of panda merchandise, which ranged from 20 cents to $780. Money made from panda souveniers went to the Zoologi- cal Society of San Diego. Scientists estimated that fewer than 700 Giant pandas were left in the wild which made them an extremely endangered species. As explained by Marge Sheldon, Di- rector of Merchandising at the San Diego Zoo, Giant pandas are also very symbolic. They represent the plight of all endangered animal species and serve as a reminder that we must be concerned with wild life conservation. Seniors 203 vlike Dornhecker hanh Duong S. Corporation Villiam Duchek ictoria Duke Robert Dryden Cheri Duhon

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Joseph Fordham Sara Fox David Farr Alan Fillingame Shelley Fox Felicia Ferrell Monique Fogata Walter Frago Seniors 205