Junior high and high school participants will head to Valley Christian Academy in Santa Maria, California, on March 5-6 for the annual competition of the Golden State Association of Christian Schools (GSACS).

             Students will compete in categories such as speech, chess, piano, spelling and art.

             Several students who are returning to compete this year are determined to do better than ever.  Others are new to the competition and are going to gain experience.

             Returning participant Darah Martinez, eighth grade, said that she is excited about the competition but still fears forgetting lines from her poem.

             Michael Tadros, seventh grade, will be competing in his first junior high division of GSACS. He said, “I am excited for chess because I have never been to a chess competition before.” 

             Martinez leaves the new participants with one final thought, “Don’t expect anything; go for the fun of it because it is a privilege just to represent your school.”

             The competition will last for two days and will conclude with an awards ceremony recognizing winners from the various categories. Winners of the academic testing taken previously will also be announced.

By Michael Mattaous & Ethan Do