BATTLE OF THE BRAINS EL CAMINO VIES FOR ACADEMIC CROWN.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer WOODLAND HILLS - Eight El Camino Real High School El Camino Real High School (also known locally as "ECR" and by some more recently as "ELCO") is a public secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. students traveled Tuesday to Boise, Idaho “Boise” redirects here. For other uses, see Boise (disambiguation). Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. , to compete for a third national title in the 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. - a grueling two-day battle among America's brightest kids. El Camino will go head-to-head Friday and Saturday with high schools from 41 other states and British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography . If the Woodland Hills school wins, it will be the first California team to hold three national titles, although a school in Texas holds the record of five. ``We all have something to prove, to ourselves ... (to) the world,'' said team member Cassidy Ellis, 17, of West Hills. For months, El Camino's decathlon team has spent hours after school to prepare for the 10-subject exam. They must be ready for questions on everything from 19th-century American impressionist painter Winslow Homer Noun 1. Winslow Homer - United States painter best known for his seascapes (1836-1910) Homer to plant cytology cytology (sītŏl`əjē), in biology, the study of the structure of all normal and abnormal components of cells and the changes, movements, and transformations of such components. (cell structure) and colonial tax policies. For Ellis, the competition has special meaning because her older brother, Ramsey, had planned to try out for El Camino's decathlon team in his senior year. He was killed in a car accident in 1998, when Cassidy was only in the seventh grade. ``It's a personal thing for me to kind of fulfill what he wanted to do,'' she said. In addition to Ellis, the team's members are Woodland Hills residents Gary Fox Gary John Fox (born December 23, 1943 in Picton, Ontario) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 1999. , Patrick Liu, and Eric Rasyidi, all 17; West Hills residents Jonathan Lin, 17, Chris Taylor Chris Taylor or Christopher Taylor may refer to:
El Camino has won two national championships - in 1998 and 2001 - and six state championships. ``Some other teams just slack off (after the state competition), and they just lose it. We are not going to let that happen,'' said Liu, who wants to be a financial analyst. El Camino teams are known for their distinctive black satin jackets, which each year are adorned with a secret motto, written in a foreign language, on the back. Last year's motto was a George Bernard Shaw quote - ``I want to be thoroughly used up when I die''- written in Armenian. This year's motto is in Aramaic and won't be revealed to non-Aramaic speakers until after the national competition. Lin, who's earned the nickname ``The Duke,'' said competing on the decathlon team helped focus his attention on school. ``I really didn't care at all. I used to be proud I could get B's and C's without studying. This has shown me that working hard for something has its own rewards and benefits.'' Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Members of the El Camino Real High School Academic Decathlon team are, from top left, Jonathan Lin, Adam Singer, Eric Rasyidi and Chris Taylor; from bottom left, Adrian Wittenberg, Gary Fox, Cassidy Ellis and Patrick Liu. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
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