Wordy questions, bright students, and scholarly team coaches can only mean one thing: Academic League season. Schools all around San Diego compete against each other in a jeopardy-like competition where academic and trivia questions are asked by a moderator. Every year, Coronado High School competes against the most prestigious schools in South Bay, testing their knowledge in the academic world.
This year, Coronado’s team welcomed a new team coach. Chemistry teacher Mrs. Grace Cho Kim was thrilled to get together with the students and compete. “We had so many new students this year, and everyone was so willing to play,” she says. “I could see the students’ pure joy in sharing their academic knowledge with us.” The students were beyond excited when they heard their chemistry teacher would be coaching their talented group.
The Academic League team is divided into three sections based on grade level. The novice team was comprised of freshmen and sophomores, the junior varsity team comprised of juniors, and the varsity comprised of seniors. During a match, toss-up questions are asked to all teams. If these questions are answered correctly, three related bonus questions follow to reward teams with more points.
The specific questions asked during a match are read by a moderator and can be the length of a paragraph. Participants have to discern what
they know from the question and begin to make connections while the question is being read aloud. The questions vary in categori
es and can range from mathematics to world history to pop culture. “When I hear a toss-up question being read, I always try to figure out the topic first, and then I think about how much I know about the topic. This helps when you are being asked long questions as toss-ups are normally long,” says Diego DeOrlow.
Coronado High had quite an exciting season this year. They were able to compete against excellent schools, and they were given the opportunity to share their knowledge on television. The varsity team was sent to the San Diego County Office of Education for a televised match against San Diego High School. Although Coronado did not come out the winner, the team gave a solid effort under pressure.
The last match took place at San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts where the novice and junior varsity team had a considerable victory.
We wish them luck next year, as they continue to learn and grow as bright students.
