La Jolla High Again Wins Competition

For the second consecutive year, a team of students from La Jolla High School placed first at a national science competition, outperforming four dozen other high schools.

Also at the competition, held this week in Auburn, Ala., a junior high school from Paradise Valley in San Diego placed second in its division.

“Our kids displayed an unbelievable level of determination and self-control, because that’s what it really takes,” said J. M. Tarvin, principal of La Jolla High.

To win the competition, 16 students on Saturday scored 126 points in 33 events ranging from chemistry experiments to compass-reading tests at the National Science Olympiad Competition, held at Auburn University.

Four of the students won gold medals, and three of those also won $1,000 Honda Scholars Prizes for their skills. The first-place title means that the La Jolla team will again travel to Washington, where it will be honored by President Bush.

Students representing Bell Junior High School in Paradise Valley placed second in their division by taking tests that gauged their knowledge in categories such as human anatomy, insects and water quality.

Over the past year, the 17-member junior high team spent lunch hours and Saturday afternoons preparing for the competition, which Principal Jodie Bruhn hailed as a unique experience.

“It makes science memorable for the kids,” Bruhn said.

Fund-raisers and private donations covered the cost of sending the La Jolla and Bell students to the two-day event.