This past week, on Feb. 7, Rosary’s Academic Decathlon Team (AcaDeca) attended the official Decathlon awards ceremony and placed 2nd in Overall Teams. The girls on the team were also individually recognized for their wit and intelligence, receiving awards in art, literature, economics, essay, speech, interview, music, art, science, social science and math. In total, 11 Royals were called to walk across the AcaDeca awards stage to receive a medal for all their hard work.
To prepare for the competition, the team began practicing as early as October; their dedication showed through with Sophomore Pheobe Zang receiving as many as eight awards: “I was so surprised and happy to receive all the awards I got that evening.”
Commenting on the team’s performance and dedication, Decathlon Coach and Science teacher Dr. Parmar shared, “I am so proud of our team, and really, I always have been. As soon as I heard they had won second place in our division I knew that all my confidence in them had been confirmed. This bodes well for the future of the AcaDeca team here at Rosary, and I’m looking forward to many more victories to come.”
Decathlon competed for a total of three days, the first being after school at Rosary, where girls got to choose from three prompts for their timed essays. The second competition was located at Tustin High School and began at noon. Here, girls were judged for their speeches and were interviewed by various judges. The final day was the testing day on Feb. 1 at Westminster High School. Where girls arrived at 8 a.m., tested for eight subjects and participated in a team quiz.
This year also saw many new faces with many new girls joining the team. Speaking about her experience on the team, Freshman Kitana Canent expressed, “As a freshman, joining AcaDeca was something new and exciting for me to try. Our team worked hard and experienced the rigorous process of various competitions. I am so proud of our team for winning so many medals and for us winning 2nd place in Overall Team. I love AcaDeca because it strengthened my academic skills, and I hope more people can join next year!”
We hope to continue the winning streak for next year and be sure to congratulate these Royals on their success and hard work this past season! Moreover, contact Dr. Parmar at [email protected] if you are interested in joining next year. Go Royals!
