Champion Team in International Academic Decathlon
May 22nd, 2008
The Academic Decathlon was first created by Dr. Robert Peterson, former Superintendent of Schools in Orange County, California in 1981. Dr. Peterson firmly believed that everyone’s learning potential can be maximized through competitive challenge and so he began the Academic Decathlon. Now the Academic Decathlon has become one of the most prestigious high school academic team competition.
The Academic Decathlon is a ten-event scholastic competition. Each high school enters a team of nine students as they compete with students from other schools. The Academic Decathlon was created to provide opportunities for students to experience the challenges of rigorous team and individual academic competition. It emphasizes the personal and academic growth of each student who can reap the rewards of greater self-knowledge and self-confidence for the future. The individual events include Art, Economics, Essay, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Studies, Speech and Interview. This year’s theme is “The Civil War”.
On May 1st, PAS put 9 students to the test to compete with other International Schools worldwide. Scores were tallied and PAS was announced as the Champion of the team competition. Out of all international competitors in honors division, Derek Jang came in 2nd and Erica Jang came in 3rd. Stefan Tsai, Patricia Chang, and Alex Hsu won the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in Scholastic division while Jolio Chang, Wayne Tsuei, and Jason Yu stayed the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Varsity division. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for individual events and total scores.