Diboll High Academic Decathlon

2009 – 2010 Curriculum

What is Academic Decathlon?• Nationally Recognized• Intellectually Competitive• Fun Team Competition

• Academic Decathlon is the “most prestigious academic competition in the nation.”

- New York Times• Students compete in 7 Academic Categories:

Music, Art, Language/Literature, Math, Economics, Science, and Social Studies with Interviews, 2 Speeches, and an Essay.

What is Academic Decathlon?• Nine students make the team:

– 3 Honors (un-weighted GPA: 4.00 –3.75)– 3 Scholastic (un-weighted GPA: 3.74 –3.00)– 3 Varsity (un-weighted GPA: 2.99 –0.00)

• Only your core classes count for your AD GPA (e.g., Math, English, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Language)

Why participate in Decathlon?

• Be a part of a Winning Program • College Resume• Scholarship Money• Improves Grades – Develops Study Habits• Meet New People• Lot’s of Publicity – National Recognition• Win friends and influence people

The topic for next year’s competition is The French

Revolution! • Literature: Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities• Social Studies: The French Revolution• Science: Intro to Chemistry • Art: 18 – 19thCentury• Music: French Revolution

Why read the Study Guides?

How and When is the team Picked?

• How: the decision for selecting the AD team will be based on a number of criteria –scores on practice tests, work ethic, attitude, dedication to the team, results at the SLHS Meet and the District Meet.

• When: the District Meet is in December, everyone participates in this meet –after this meet, the coaches will select the final 9 members of the team who will represent DHS at Regional.

What is the time commitment for Academic Decathlon?

• How Often: In the Fall, the time commitment is spent in class activities and on your own studying –about once a week we will meet after school. Once the team is picked in December, the time commitment picks up. We meet every day after school in January and sometimes before school.

What is the time commitment for Academic Decathlon?

• Other Extracurricular: I realize that many students are involved with other activities, and I respect that, but I also ask that students respect what we are trying to accomplish, other schools have students who are committed to their AD program, so should we. If we are going to make a run at a State Championship, we have to have 9 students who are willing to make AD one of their top priorities. Any conflicts with other activities, have to be worked out by mutual agreement with all parties concerned.

Goals for the 2009/10 Team:• Win State: our goal should be to improve on this

year’s success; we can win a state championship with the students we have trying out next year, this could be one of our strongest groups ever.

• Trip to Nebraska: next years National Meet will be held in Omaha, Nebraska.

Important Dates: • District Meet: Dec. 4 – 5th, 2009 **• Regional Meet: Jan. 29 – 30th, 2010• State Meet: Feb. 26 – 28th, 2010• National Meet: Apr. 21 – 25, 2010• Students have to be available for ALL of

these dates, you will not be put on the AD team if you will miss any of these dates as that would affect the entire team and their chances of advancing to the next level.

** Indicates Flexible Schedule

What Do I Need to Do Now?

• Send me an email at rhoward@dibollisd.com with the following information in it:

– Your Name + Grade Next Year.– Two email accounts that are checked regularly.– Anticipated AD Level (honors, scholastic, varsity).

• Complete your summer work!

Questions?• Email Me:rhoward@dibollisd.com

• Diboll High Website:http://dibollhigh.tx.dih.schoolinsites.com/• Diboll High Website:http://dibollhigh.tx.dih.schoolinsites.com/?PageName='TeacherPage'&StaffID='60526

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