Granada Hills Charter High wins state Academic Decathlon

After coming close several times in recent years, Granada Hills Charter High School finally captured its first state Academic Decathlon title Monday, securing itself a spot in the national battle of the brains next month.

The school won the state competition this weekend in Sacramento with a score of 50,801 points out of a possible 60,000.

Culminating months of arduous preparation, Granada's team of nine jumped up from from their seats inside Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium as they heard their names called.

"We had a lot of tough competition this year, but we're very excited that we came out on top and we're looking forward to the next round," said Granada Coach Matt Arnold.

Granada's team included the state's highest scorer, Austin Kang, who invidually earned 8,985 points out of a possible 10,000.

"I thought I would've been been drained and exhausted by now but with all of this excitement, I am more energetic than anything else," Kang said, receiving the news that he outscored all other contestants.

Also on the team are: Celine Ta, Joon Lee, Harsimar Dhanoa, Shagun Goyal, Jiyong "Eugene" Lee, Elysia Eastty, Riki Higashida, and Sindhura Seeni.

A total of 65 schools from across California descended in Sacramento this past weekend to duke it out in the academic contest, that tests students on their knowledge of 10 subjects including economics,

art and social science. The theme of this year's competition was the Great Depression.

Finishing among the state's top 10 were five other LAUSD schools, including last year's national champions El Camino Real, from Woodland Hills - who hold the record for most national titles, with six wins.

Taft High School also landed in ninth place overall. The Woodland Hills campus has earned itself three national titles as well.

The two San fernando Valley schools combined have helped LAUSD win nine of the 11 national titles that the district has earned - sealing its reputation as a decathlon powerhouse.

Now Granada Hills hopes to launch its own decathlon dynasty.

Granada will seek to capture California's eighth consecutive national title April 27-30 in Charlotte, N.C.

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Locals honored for excellence in science and the arts

Two local San Fernando Valley students and two local schools have won top honors in competitions recognizing excellence in science and the arts.

David Gaydos and Ryan Nagotashi, both freshmen at Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills, were named regional winners in the ExploraVision Awards contest.

That national contest drew more than 13,000 entries from students in grades K-12 who invented future technologies.

Gaydos and Nagotashi invented a freeway device that would convert the wind created by passing vehicles into energy.

Dearborn Street Elementary in Northridge and Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood are also celebrating this week after receiving prestigious BRAVO Awards, from the Los Angeles County Music Center.

For nearly three decades, the BRAVO awards have honored outstanding educators and school programs that promote the visual and performing arts.

Dearborn Elementary was honored in the best school category for its effort to incorporate the arts into all classrooms. Walter Reed won for best school music program.

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