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Unforgettable Experience in USAP

May 29, 2018

Unforgettable Experience in USAP

Between the 17th and 21st of May, the seventh grade of SHSID sent ten competitors (nine in a team and one individual) to Omaha, Nebraska for the fifth USAP nationals. This is a continuation of the China regional championship in Guangzhou in February.

USAP, or the United States Academic Pentathlon, is an elite academic competition for middle school students. This competition requires ability in all five academic fields: Science, Literature, Mathematics, Social Science, and Fine Arts. The competition is tied to a specific theme each year. The students are also divided into three academic groups- honors, scholastic, and varsity- according to their abilities.

This year, the theme was the continent of Africa. Through the subjects of Fine Arts and Social Science, the SHSID team understood the complexity of the culture and history in Africa. Meanwhile the subjects of Science and Literature explain the problems Africa is currently facing, such as diseases, water shortages, and wars.

After winning the China regional championship in Guangzhou in February, our team is continuing to work hard. In order to optimize their performance as a group, they distributed roles for making timelines and summaries. They also organized weekly review quizzes to make sure everyone was well prepared. Their coaches helped them by organizing team reviews to increase the efficiency of everyone’s review.

On May 16th, the team donned their uniforms and set off on their journey. After a long flight, it was already night when they arrived in Omaha. The immediate problem they faced was jet lag. For the one last day to prepare before the competition, they conserved their time to review, either by quizzing each other or rereading the materials. The USAD board also organized meetings to clarify the rules and to train the competitors to use the clickers (the answer entry-device). The next morning, after a bit of anxiety, they settled down for the objective tests.

One whole morning of test made the team tired, but the Super Quiz in the afternoon brought their energy back. The Super The quiz required faster reaction time and thorough understanding of the materials since only ten seconds were provided for answering. The Super Quiz also required teamwork, since members of each academic group needed to work together to complete their ten questions. They needed to quickly discuss and confirm the answer. For the Super Quiz, SHSID’s team received a score of 27 out of 30. The most outstanding was the honors division team, which answered all of the ten questions correctly.

The next day the team put on their formal attire and attended the award ceremony. The first awards were the medals in single subjects. SHSID’s team received 16 gold medals, 8 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals. Most significantly, each member won a medal for mathematics. They also received 4 gold and 2 silver medals for individual overall score. The final awards were the most important team awards. Our team received first place in the Super Quiz and the seventh-grade division after winning the top school in the United States. The team were overjoyed when they held up the team trophy.

SHSID’s seventh grader team all joined USAP for the first time. This competition gave them valuable knowledge in both academics and teamwork. From the in-school selection to China regional championship and to the US finals, this eight-month long process was an unforgettable experience for them.

They returned as the champions in USAP 2018. USAP 2019 is waiting!

(Written by Ivan Yuan from 7(2) Supervised by Ms Fan Chen Pictures by Ms Jing Li)