Garden Grove Unified School District had a Strong Showing at the 2017 Pentathlon

GGUSD pentathlon team.

Multiple teams of Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) students competed in the 2017 Academic Pentathlon, held at the Orange County Department of Education earlier this year, with five teams taking first place overall in their division. 

Academic Pentathlon teams of sixth through eighth graders competed in five subject areas – mathematics, English language arts, science, social science, and fine arts. They also squared off in a challenging Super Quiz competition. This year’s topic was World War II.  Awards were given for individual performance and for overall team by division.

“Once again we had a very strong showing at the Academic Pentathlon,” said Walter Muneton, GGUSD Board of Education trustee “Our students continue to work hard all year and enjoy competing in academic challenges that show they are among the brightest in the county.”             

Wins among the sixth grade teams from GGUSD include the following by Division: in Division 1, the Ethan Allen Mountaineers placed first overall, the Ethan Allen Scholars ranked third, and Peters (4-6) Team Alpha placed fifth.  In Division 2, Excelsior Elementary placed first and second. In Division 3, Post Elementary Blue placed second, Garden Park Elementary placed third, Post Elementary Gold placed fourth, and Sunnyside Elementary placed sixth. Division 4 featured nothing but GGUSD schools with teams placing first through sixth; Lawrence Elementary, Eisenhower Green, Eisenhower White, Russell Elementary, Parkview Elementary, and Russell Blue respectively. In Division 5 Thomas Paine Elementary placed second, while Wakeham Elementary placed third in Division 6. Rounding out the winners was Heritage Elementary, who placed third in Division 7.

In seventh grade, McGarvin Intermediate School placed third in Division 1 while Walton Intermediate ranked first in division 5. In eighth grade, Jordan Intermediate teams took fourth and fifth place in Division 1; Alamitos students placed third and fifth in Division 2; McGarvin and two teams of Ralston students took first, second, and third place in Division 3; and Walton Intermediate placed second in Division 6.

The Academic Pentathlon is coordinated by the Orange County Department of Education and sponsored by SchoolsFirst Credit Union.