SAN DIEGO — Joie De La Rosa, an eighth-grader at St. Rose of Lima School in Chula Vista, is a first-place winner in the Catholic Academic Junior High Decathlon’s national competition.
Student teams from about 170 schools in 13 Catholic dioceses took part in the event, which was held virtually on March 26. Awards are given for individual performance in eight subject areas, as well as team performance in two events: a logic quiz featuring 20 challenging problems and a “Super Quiz” with 50 multiple-choice questions in five subject areas.
Joie won a first-place award in the English category.
“Being one of the first-place winners at the recent Catholic Academic Junior High Decathlon’s national competition means that my efforts in studying have paid off,” Joie told The Southern Cross. “It means that I have learned about my chosen subject, and I am ready to learn more and enhance my skills.”
In addition to Joie, there was also another local winner: St. Joseph Academy, located in San Marcos, took first place in the “Super Quiz” portion of the competition.
Prior to the national competition, Joie had participated in the San Diego Regional Academic Junior High Decathlon, held March 5 at St. Augustine High School, where she placed first in Language Arts and third in Writing.
Her accolades don’t come as much of a surprise to Jennifer Frampton, who has been Joie’s language arts teacher for the past three years.
“Joie is the most focused student I have ever taught, and her attention to detail is impeccable,” said Frampton, who noted that her student is “at the top of her class” and has won a full scholarship to Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista.
“We are so blessed to have a daughter like Joie; she is a special gift from above,” said Joie’s parents, Raul and Dhivara De La Rosa. She has grown in “just a blink of an eye, and she has done so much to make us proud.”
The De La Rosas also praised St. Rose of Lima School for providing their daughter with such a well-rounded, quality education.
“All the teachers here at St. Rose are doing their best of (their) ability to share their vast knowledge on the subject they are teaching,” said the couple, whose son, Jeb, is a fourth-grader at the school. “In addition, St. Rose offers many extracurricular opportunities and after-school programs,” like Academic Decathlon.
When she isn’t winning Academic Decathlon competitions, Joie likes to sing in the St. Rose of Lima Children’s Choir and in the school’s Glee program. She also enjoys drawing, coloring and making mini-collages.
