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Sunday, Jan. 31, 1999

Super Quiz tests students' smarts, mettle

Several area schools move on to state competition

By STEPHANIE L. JORDAN
Staff Writer

   Sudden silence and raucous cheers could be heard from the crowd that filled Moody High School as each question was asked and answered for the Academic Decathlon Super Quiz held Saturday.
   The home team won the Super Quiz. Moody hosted the Region III large-school division contest Friday and Saturday. Winners were announced Saturday night at an awards banquet at Omni Bayfront Hotel.
   During the weekend's competition, 13 South Texas teams competed for a slot in the state large-schools competition Feb. 26-28 in Beaumont.
   Several other Coastal Bend teams competed in the small-school division competition in Palacios and the medium-sized schools contest hosted by San Antonio's Harlandale Independent School District.
   King High School finished in first place overall and will move on to the state competition. Moody and Ray high schools finished second and third overall, respectively.
   Sinton High School finished first overall and in the Super Quiz in the small-schools division.
   Schools that did not finish first in their division still have a chance to compete at the state level. Statewide, about 25 top-scoring schools who did not get first place are selected to compete at state, said Chris Garcia, public information officer for CCISD. Those schools selected will be announced Monday.
   The competition included written tests in language and literature, math, social sciences, economics, music and art. Students also wrote essays, gave speeches, took part in an interview and participated in the Super Quiz, a "Jeopardy"-like final event.
   Students competed for team and individual honors in three divisions -- honors, scholastic and varsity -- depending on whether they are A, B or C students.
   For the students, what this competition means is trading winter breaks for study sessions, losing sleep on school nights and eyes growing bleary from reading literature and poems.
   "We just try to remember that it's all going to be worth it in the end," said Esther Izaguirre, a member of the Super Quiz winning team from Moody.
   Some contestants said they were relieved that the Super Quiz -- the only public event -- was over. The pressure of performing in front of a crowd can be unnerving, some said.
   "Now we go to state -- we hope -- and we start all over again," said Bobby Garcia, one of Esther's teammates.
   For this year's Super Quiz, the subject was "The Brain: Looking Inward." The 45 questions were asked in multiple choice form. Students had to correctly answer that the area of the brain thought to be responsible for coordinating and overseeing working memory is located in the cerebrum.
   But did the spectators know the answers to the questions'?
   "Not likely," said Mike Wassik, father of Jason, a 17-year-old Ray High School junior who competed. "He said studying for this was like being in a dungeon. He wasn't sure if he learned it all. This year was more of a challenge for him, but he gets good grades, studied and still had a part-time job."
   King High School junior Melvin DuBois was an alternate for the King High School team. He sat in the audience answering the questions on his own scorecard. With 36 questions asked, his personal tally was 26 correct answers.
   "We've been studying for this all year," he said. "I'm proud of my team members."
   Staff writer Stephanie L. Jordan can be reached at 886-3724 or by e-mail at jordans@caller.com
   

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.