Beaumont HS Academic Decathlon Team

The Catamount
Nov 22, 2020
3 min read

The Aca Dec Team. Left to Right: Gavin Altuna, Nora Elhams, Kiyani Carter, Eliana Romero, Alexis McGraw, Justin Lamata, Juan Morales, Mr. Rathfelder — Photos are from the Riverside Board of Education Gallery

Photos are from the Riverside Country of Education Gallery

Congratulations to the Academic Decathlon Team on placing 5th in Super Quiz, bringing home a trophy and 7th overall. This year in regionals (Riverside Country) there were 16 high schools and 17 teams- smaller than the past three years of 19-22 schools participating, some of these having two teams. Beaumont only competed with one team this year; in the past we have had two. This also occurred for Hemet, Corona, and JW North. It was no surprise Elsinore, 49,193 pts, received first place (for the 4th year in a row), Hemet, 49,127 pts, second place, and West Valley, 43,430 pts, in third place. Western Center Academy, 40,000 pts, competed for the first time this year, bringing a huge crowd to the only public event in the competition: the Super Quiz.

Academic Decathlon is an annual national, now international, academic competition. Nine students as well as the alternates create a team. Each team has 3 Varsity “C” students, 3 Scholastic “B” students, and 3 Honor “A” students. A decathlon GPA is the grades from your core classes from the past 4 semesters; math, science, english, history, and language. For the GPA, classification will no longer be 0.00-2.99 Varsity, 3.0-3.749 Scholastic, 3.75-4.0 Honors. According to USAD, United States Academic Decathlon, in 2021 it will be 0.00-3.19 Varsity, 3.20-3.79 Scholastic, 3.80-4.0 Honors.

The competition is composed of 7 multiple choice tests, an essay, a speech, and an interview (1,000 pts possible in each), along with the Super Quiz. The seven tests are : literature, social science, science, economics, art,and music.

Every year a new topic is announced in mid-Spring. The topic of 2020 is “In Sickness and In Health: An Exploration of Illness and Wellness.” The science topic was about cancer and cells. Music focused on Dies Irae, a 13 century Gregorian chant found in many famous movie themes, and evolution of how we think of death through music. Economics tested on both macro and micro as well as the economy of healthcare. Social science varied from Aristotle, Galan, Hippocratis to the Oregon Experiment and Obama Affordable Healthcare Act. In literature, a novel is also chosen, this year it was Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley.

The speech was given in front of three judges in a classroom, and can be about anything from sleep deprivation, Communism, Open Letter to Middle School, even a mythical story. The competition takes place at a local high school for two Saturdays, one at the end of January and the other at the beginning of February. The first day is an essay, a prepared and impromptu speech, and an interview. The second day includes the tests, Super Quiz, and the awards ceremony.

Beaumont high school has a zero period academic decathlon class that anyone is able to join. In class, we read the selected novel, discuss the topic, and learn the guides. To prepare for competition, BHS decathletes study together inside and outside of class. The two Fridays before competition, the team studies extra hard and discusses the upcoming competition in the library. Academic Decathlon at BHS is all about fun and learning valuable skills for college and life, according to Coach Mr. Rathfelder.

Talk to your counselor about adding Academic Decathlon. If you can’t fit zero period in your schedule or you simply like to sleep in, it is also a club located in F3.

Beaumont HS scores of 2020:

Super Quiz: 2,800 points Total: 35,153.9 points

Kiyani Carter received the highest score on the team this year with 6,094 points.