ACADEMICS A TEAM CONTEST SIMI 'PLAYERS' LEARNING FROM ONE ANOTHER.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer Teamwork (product, software, tool) Teamwork - A SASD tool from Sterling Software, formerly CADRE Technologies, which supports the Shlaer/Mellor Object-Oriented method and the Yourdon-DeMarco, Hatley-Pirbhai, Constantine and Buhr notations. may well be Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. High School's secret weapon in this year's Academic Decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. . With six returning members and a willingness to coach one another on difficult subjects such as math and economics, the school's two teams expect to be formidable competitors. ``It helps a lot when someone else is willing to show someone else how to do a problem, said Aroon Karra, 16, noting that the economics category has been especially difficult for team members who have not yet taken the subject in school. But despite the long hours after school, Karra said, ``It is fun. ``It sounds like a really nerdy thing to do, but you do meet a lot of people you probably wouldn't meet in other classes.'' Simi Valley is fielding two eight-member teams in the competition that quizzes students on 10 academic subjects that include art, music and math. Both teams competed against 13 Ventura County high schools last weekend in essay, speech and interview competitions, and will take the remaining seven subject tests and the oral Super Quiz - a fast-paced question-and-answer relay - Feb. 1. Simi Valley took second in the national competition in 2000 but went without a team in 2001 when the coaches retired, said coach Debbi Mjoen, now in her second year. But the 2002 team brought back 36 medals last year, and Mjoen thinks this year's team - with six returning members - also will do well. ``This is a team of students who are willing to push themselves to the limit academically,'' Mjoen said. ``It becomes not only an external but an internal competition as well.'' Mjoen said she believes the public speaking portion of the competition is the most valuable for the decathletes. Delivering a prepared speech to a room full of strangers and then being interviewed gives the students more confidence and prepares them for college admissions interviews and job interviews, she said. Some of the decathletes are already turning challenges into triumphs. After struggling through Thomas Hardy's ``Far From the Madding Crowd For other uses of the name, see Far from the Madding Crowd (disambiguation). Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. ,'' required for the language and literature portion, Alan Meck turned his frustration into a hilarious satiric sa·tir·i·cal or sa·tir·ic adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by satire. See Synonyms at sarcastic. sa·tir  i·cal·ly adv. speech. The 18-year-old describes a cabal of embittered em·bit·ter tr.v. em·bit·tered, em·bit·ter·ing, em·bit·ters 1. To make bitter in flavor. 2. To arouse bitter feelings in: was embittered by years of unrewarded labor. English literature English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form. majors who select the most tedious book they can find and elevate el·e·vate tr.v. ele·vat·ed, ele·vat·ing, ele·vates 1. To move (something) to a higher place or position from a lower one; lift. 2. To increase the amplitude, intensity, or volume of. 3. it into a classic so others will be forced to read it. SIMI VALLEY ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAMS This is one in a series of profiles on prominent Academic Decathlon teams in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and surrounding communities. Teams are usually made up of nine high school students, three from each academic category based on grade-point averages - honor students (3.75-4.0 GPA GPA abbr. grade point average Noun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted ), scholastic students (3.0-3.74 GPA) and varsity students (0.0-2.99 GPA). Simi Valley is fielding two teams of eight players each. A team Kareena Brooks, 18, Simi Valley, Honors Lindsay Carpenter, 18, Simi Valley, Honors Stephen Hampton, 16, Simi Valley, Honors Aroon Karra, 16, Simi Valley, Honors Alan Meck, 18, Simi Valley, Varsity Dani Mount, 18, Simi Valley, Varsity Jessi Pinkston, 17, Simi Valley, Scholastic Shea Ryan, 16, Simi Valley, Scholastic B team Kevin Althoff, 17, Simi Valley, Honors John Cho, 17, Chatsworth, Honors Joe Lewis, 16, Simi Valley, Scholastic Jeff Roman, 16, Simi Valley, Varsity Ben Smith, 16, Simi Valley, Scholastic Johanna Subrata, 17, Simi Valley, Honors Not shown Helen Martin Helen Dorothy Martin (July 23, 1909 – March 25, 2000) was an American actress of stage and television who is perhaps most well known for her role in the sitcom 227 as Marla Gibbs' neighbor Pearl. Martin was born in St. , 17, Simi Valley, Varsity Scott Meininger, 16, Simi Valley, Scholastic CAPTION(S): 14 photos, box Photo: (1) Kareena Brooks (2) Lindsay Carpenter (3) Stephen Hampton (4) Aroon Karra (5) Alan Meck (6) Dani Mount (7) Jessi Pinkston (8) Shea Ryan (9) Kevin Althoff (10) John Cho (11) Joe Lewis (12) Jeff Roman (13) Ben Smith (14) Johanna Subrata Box: SIMI VALLEY ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAMS (see text) |
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