This school year not only marks the class of 2018’s defining year, but also the thirty year anniversary of the Franklin Academic Decathlon(ACADEC)’s state championship win. ACADEC is a club where students interested in expanding their knowledge learn and compete in academic competitions. Last year the Franklin ACADEC team won three competitions in the large school division and multiple team members were awarded for his/her impressive performances.

Despite thirty years being a significantly long time for a championship win, ACADEC team captain Nyna Pendkar takes a positive spin on the situation: “We believe that with a lot of hard work and dedication, [our team] can hopefully advance from third place to another state championship”. The anniversary is being used as a motivation tactic for the Franklin team to reclaim their title, pulling from the past team’s passion and dedication.

In regards to other plans for the school year, captains Nyna Pendkar, Sumit Choudhury, and Vineetha Yadlapalli are set on making learning within the club “more fun and acceptable”. Every year, ACADEC revolves around a certain subject, this year’s being Africa. Aware of this information, the captains are using the learning strategies of group work and motivation through prizes to teach their team about the fascinating continent and it’s music, art, and literature. Pendkar hopes that this will make the year “a lot of fun and hopefully lead to the team learning a lot as well”.

The first ACADEC meeting of the school year will be on Tuesday, September 12, at 2:20 afterschool in room 224. A motive for coming? New friends, more knowledge, a very prestigious club to add onto your college applications, and Pendkar hints that there may be donuts at the first meeting! Another great reason to join is that the time commitment is not large; ACADEC’s first competition this year is in November, leading to regionals in February. Hopefully, the state championships are in sight, as they are in March. All Franklin High School students are welcome to join, whether you are a freshman new to the high school or a senior interested in learning more!

Let’s root for our fellow panthers as the ACADEC team pushes for a state championship, making the 2017-2018 school year as memorable as one’s senior year!