Page 9 - Priorities 2

This Fact Finding Frenzy was a Community Effort
TRIVIA
COMPETITION:
What is more intense, more detailed and more exhausting than working on the O.J. Simpson legal team?
Here’sa clue:theactivityindirectlyteachesteam- work, strategic planning, persistence, patience, self- control under pressure and, above all, the process of building a community, Father Martin Mager pointed out at chapel.
Ben Hurlbut and Peter Adams defend an answer with documentation at the judge’s table.
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It’s the Millard Fillmore Trivia Contest — student teams from 12 high schools competing against each other to find and document answers to a long list of minute and com- pletely unpredictable questions.
From the 6 p.m. Friday start time, the 15-member Priory team worked frantically without a stop until the 7 p.m. Sunday deadline. At the school library “home base,” team members were supported by many faculty, friends, the Internet, cell phones, a fax machine and a lot of Father Martin’s homemade pizza.
Even a roadblock in the form of a huge and impassable tree across the road as they raced — liter- ally — to the finish line didn’t deter the team, although it did cost them a substantial penalty for being seven minutes late.
“Finding the answers isn’t the hard part. It’s find- ing the documentation. We have to bring proof for each part of each answer, two proofs if we have a dif- ferent answer than the official one,” commented Jeanine Yost.
On one question, team captain Ben Hurlbut tried to convince the judge that a direct call to George Lucas should be acceptable proof for a question concerning the San Francisco landmark building in a Star Wars movie. The judge didn’t buy it — not sufficiently doc- umented, he said. No points. In the end, Woodside Priory's team finished ninth; first among the three school teams competing for the first time.
The competition has been sponsored by Carlmont High School in Belmont for more than two decades and the larger schools on the Peninsula tend to be the more consistent competitors. Woodside Priory last competed in 1988. However, the majority of the 1996 team are sophomores and juniors. They learned from this year’s experience and seem eager for another go next year, says Paul Trudelle, team advisor.
Father William Sullivan and Dr. Frank Cody commemorate Board of Trustees President Carl Larson’s retirement with a lighthearted gift — a sommalier’s medallion to acknowledge Carl’s generosity with his wine cellar for the Priory’s events. Carl is taking on new responsibilities for the board of California Polytechnic Institute (Cal Poly). Father William also thanked member Sharon Carlock, who left the board recently.
Trustees
Pat Adams
Scott Carey
Jeff Congdon Louise Davies, Emer. Les Dewitt
Fran Dempsey Rick Ellinger
J. Michael Gullard David Lewis Kathie Maxfield Sandra McCarthy
Bill McGlashan*
Donald McMullen
R. Bruce Mosbacher Keith Patten
Sharon Sheehan
Art Schultz
William Stewart Francesca Turbok (Pres.) Joanne Vidinski*
Kim Walters
Robert Ward*
*New member since August issue
A weary Jeanine Yost fuels up with a piece of Millard Fillmore’s birthday cake. The Priory team won the cake in a preliminary round.