By Emily Fancher, STAFF WRITER

Brad Friedman is San Mateo County's Alex Trebek.  The drama director at San Mateo High School has the same salt and pepper hair and sharp suits as Trebek, host of "Jeopardy." And Friedman also asks trivia questions on TV -- on "Quiz Kids," a local show broadcast on Channel 26.

More than 100 fans showed up at the television studio on Saturday for a taping of the first show of the fourth season, in which defending champ Menlo-Atherton High School faced off against Hillsdale High School.

The show is something of a local phenomenon. Broadcast 10 times a week on Channel 26, it is the station's most popular show. Executive producer Bob Marks says the station has estimated that it draws up to 25,000 viewers for some episodes.  "It's taken off beyond our wildest expectations," said producer Liz La Porte. "The kids are gracious, intelligent and articulate."

Marks said his wife, a former teacher, came up with the idea and that the popularity of shows like "Who Wants to be Millionaire?" helped generate excitement at high schools about the quiz teams and the show.  Teams compete for an all-expenses paid trip to Europe, which all three members of this year's Menlo-Atherton team enjoyed last year. The runners up will receive $500 in scholarship money for college.

Menlo-Atherton beat Hillsdale 390 to 200, partly because their team captain Daniel Barclay is an intellectual superstar.  "Daniel Barclay has a reputation as a genius," said Elinor Westfield, a senior at Menlo-Atherton, who came to the show last year.  Barclay is good at everything, but nearly perfect at geography. Teammate Jessica Woods excelled at the math questions and David Hestrin shined at culture and history.

Questions ranged from which governments fought the Peloponnesian War (Sparta and Athens) to what disease affects one's ability to regulate blood sugar levels (diabetes).  Barclay said he didn't have any expectations before he signed on for the team four years ago and the ride has been fun.  "I like the actual shows best of all," Barclay said after the show. "I may look uncomfortable up there, but I'm actually having fun."

Ethan Stewart, who coached the Hillsdale team and teaches history at the school, said he loves preparing for the events. "The kids are bright and motivated," he said. "I was proud of the team today. It was very close after the first two rounds."  Fans from both high schools turned out to clap, stamp their feet and wave signs for their teams like it was a homecoming football game.

"We wanted to make kids who are high achievers into intellectual role models," said Marks, "and I think we've done it."

Staff writer Emily Fancher covers Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside and Portola Valley. She can be reached at 650-348-4340 or efancher@angnewspapers.com

Coast Views Magazine March 2002
Coastside's Smart Kids
by Mary Knippel


Left to Right: Proud Quiz Kids with trophy— Colin Hughes, Dara Hazeghi and James O'Connell (Ian Danskin is also on the team, but unavailable for a picture).

Fierce competition, points, penalties, agility, speed, nerves of steel, television cameras, and ringing buzzers; sounds like quite a fast-moving game doesn't it? No, it's not football, basketball, or any other mainstream team sport. Coastside students are racking up points, prizes and exciting experiences while flexing their power— brain power that is— through some very unusual venues in the form of Quiz Kids and Tech Trek at Half Moon Bay High School. Quiz Kids is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay and Tech Trek is sponsored by the Half Moon Bay branch of the American Association of University Women (HMB-AAUW).

Quiz Kids
"Peninsula Quiz Kids started three years ago," Sue Million, assistant principal at Half Moon Bay High School said, "as a fun, academic, quiz tournament for high school students. The kids were shell-shocked in front of a live audience and on TV. They knew the answers, but they were slow buzzing in. After that the kids and I came together and decided they needed to practice every week with buzzers and sample questions."

Questions are pitched rapid fire in the areas of history, science, math, literature, mythology, geography, social science, art, and music. Students are recruited for the team by teachers submitting the names of potential Quiz Kids, or by students themselves contacting Million directly and asking to participate.
"As a parent it is rewarding to watch your child and the other team members working together pooling their knowledge on a wide variety of subjects," said Lori O'Connell, mother of James O'Connell, one of Half Moon Bay High School's Quiz Kids. "As a member of this community it is very exciting watching Half Moon Bay High School being recognized around the Bay area for its academics."

The Half Moon Bay Classic Quiz Bowl was held December 9, where our local team played host. The informal atmosphere allowed players to have fun. Prizes were awarded to the most valuable players and winning teams.

"Our academic students very rarely get recognized," Million said. "The competitions are televised, so our students see the Quiz Kids on TV. They are known around campus as the Quiz Kids. It's nice that they have that recognition.
"On March 2 we are going up against West Bay Christian Academy at the Peninsula TV Studio at 1250 San Carlos Avenue," said Million. "Everyone is welcome to come cheer us on." For more information about Quiz Kids, contact Susan Million at 650-712-7200 ext. 3112.

Tech Trek
Tech Trek, a math/science summer camp for girls, began in 1998 at Stanford University and has now grown to five campuses including Stanford and Mills College here in the Bay area. Designed to develop interests, excitement and self-confidence in young women who will enter eighth grade in the fall, Tech Trek features hands-on activities in math, science and related fields. Sleeping, eating, instructional and recreational facilities are located on the university campuses where the camps are held. Campers are assigned either a math or science core class that they attend daily. Campers also choose from a number of rotating labs designed to expose each of them to all core subjects taught. Instructors include middle school teachers and female professionals in math, science and technology. Campers may go on field trips to study the stars through a telescope, or assemble rockets to launch into the stars.

Local math or science teachers nominate middle school students in the spring for this very specialized summer camp. "At a cost of $550 per camper, HMB-AAUW can support a very limited number of campers with branch scholarships," said Julie Gerth, former Tech Trek chairperson. "Our branch of AAUW has sponsored campers from Half Moon Bay and Pescadero who were able to attend Teck Treck-Stanford and found it a very rewarding experience."

Each campus has a different theme and focus. Stanford emphasizes the theme that girls can do anything they choose and that careers as scientists are feasible. From an initial population of 150 campers attending Tech Treck on Stanford's campus in 1998, the program has mushroomed to 406 campers attending on five California campuses in 2001.

Tech Treck campers have the opportunity to live the life of a college student for the week. They interact with women who model a high degree of science, mathematics or computer expertise as part of their daily lives. For more information about Tech Treck, please contact the current HMB-AAUW Tech Treck chairperson Pauline Shue at 650-726-3334.

The Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay has been in service for over 25 years and embraces many community, youth, and international programs. The American Association of University Women (AAUW), founded in 1881, is a national organization whose goal is to achieve legal, social, educational, and economic equity for women. Open to all graduates who hold a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited college or university, AAUW strives to end gender bias in public education and supports the growth of self-esteem, leadership skills, and career goals for young women and girls.

The Almanac,  Wednesday, April 10, 2002 
M-A High scores hat trick at Quiz Kids contest

For the third year in a row, Menlo-Atherton High School walked away with the Peninsula Quiz Kids trophy, beating out 24 other high school teams in an undefeated season that ended March 30 in a championship face-off against Crystal Springs Uplands School.

M-A triumphed with 390 points to Crystal Springs' 230. Points are awarded in a Jeopardy-like contest in which four-student teams compete to answer questions about art, science, technology, literature, history, music, geography, math, sports and current events.

In addition to the championship trophy, the M-A team _ senior Robin Pam and juniors Daniel Barclay, Jessica Woods and David Hestrin and their faculty advisor Gregg Whitnah _ won a 10-day trip to the United Kingdom.

"I'm honored to be able to work with a team like this," Mr. Whitnah said. "It is one of the highlights of my life."

"There is no substitute," said M-A Principal Eric Hartwig, "for the hours of practice they have dedicated to make this victory possible. They earned this victory through their hard work, and I am very proud of them."

Over the past school year, the M-A team spent 60 hours fielding 3,000 practice questions, said team captain Robin Pam, who has been competing since her sophomore year.

Crystal Springs, the runner-up for the second straight year, were represented by team captain Lee-Ming Zen, Tyson Mao, Brian Prege of Portola Valley and Mike Bauer. Each student won a DVD player.

The championship match will be broadcast by Peninsula TV on June 5 and June 9 on cable channel 28 in Menlo Park and Atherton. Check TV listings for broadcast times.

Sample questions
1. What is the product of the slope of two perpendicular lines?
2. What title character in a Samuel Beckett play never appears in the play?
3. In 1813, Commodore Perry fought a decisive naval battle on what lake?
4. What state is known as the palmetto state?

Answers: (1.) -1 (2.) Godot (3.) Lake Erie (4.) South Carolina

The San Francisco Chronicle, Friday Peninsula Edition, March 2, 2001 

Q&A That Pays  High school students compete for a summer trip to London on cable TV's 'Quiz Kids' 

By Linda Berlin, Special to the Chronicle

As a cameraman walks down the center aisle, zooming in on a rowdy studio audience, six Daly City high school students stand on the stage under the spotlights, licking their lips, shifting their weight and whispering to one another.   Game show host Brad Friedman jogs onto the stage and kicks off the competition with the first question:

"Al Gore lost in his own home state, what is the name of the state?"  

Jefferson High School student Angela Pang, 17, quickly slams the buzzer, and her teammates -- Christina Nelson, 18, and Krystalyn Sylvester, 17 -- giggle with delight.  

"Tennessee," Pang says, confidently.   The girls, dressed in matching blue T-shirts with

Jefferson patches on the front and their names on the back, bump shoulders. They've won the first points of the day in the "Quiz Kids" competition, a weekly show on Peninsula TV-26 that began last month and will end with the championship match that airs May 4.   In its second year, "Quiz Kids" pits teams from 24 high schools against one another for the grand prize: a nine-day trip to London this summer.  

"Quiz Kids" is taped each Saturday before a studio audience in the San Mateo County Transit District office building and airs the following Friday night.  

It's a mini-version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" -- minus the million bucks -- that highlights the intellectual talent of the Peninsula's brightest high school students. They must answer a variety of trivia questions related to current events, science and technology, geography, literature, history, math, sports, fine and performing arts.  

On this Saturday afternoon, Jefferson is facing popular Westmoor High School, a team that, when introduced, draws wild cheers from the studio audience.  

Approximately 80 parents, school teachers, teenagers and children are watching the half-hour taping in San Carlos. Three Westmoor cheerleaders, dressed in their uniforms, wave pom-poms in the back of the studio, which is divided down the center into two distinct rooting sections. Friedman, the game show's host and a drama teacher at San Mateo High School, stands between the two teams and lobs the questions.  

In the face-off round between one member from each team in a category of their choice, Dennis Lien's rock-solid knowledge of geography boosts Westmoor's score.  

"Name the Australian city which is both the site of a famous opera house and the capital of the province New South Wales?"  

Lien swiftly replies "Sydney," which draws confident smiles from teammates Janice Tapay and Rainier Bautista.  

"I think the best part for me is looking at the kids that are participating, " said Bob Marks, the show's executive producer. His wife, Carol, a former schoolteacher, came up with the "Quiz Kids" concept. "These are kids that have worked hard, but have gotten no recognition."  

He says students are often praised for their ability to play sports, but rarely do they gain recognition for their academic achievements.  

"The kids that are 9 or 10 years old who decide they want to do this, that's what we want to attract," he said.   The number of participating schools has grown -- two dozen this year, up from 16 a year ago -- but Marks wants more schools involved. He has received favorable feedback from the community on the show; he says it also draws the most sponsorship from local businesses.  

"It's created an identity for the station," he added.   He'd like to have all Peninsula high schools from Daly City to Mountain View join the competition next year.  

The majority of the questions come from a pool of 2,000 created through a group of graduate and post-graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley's Quiz Bowl, then screened for appropriateness by the San Mateo County Office of Education. A few months before the competition, each team is given several hundred "practice" questions to study.  

In this afternoon's competition, only a handful of questions actually stumps the students -- one being "What Spanish city famous for its swords has its namesake city in Ohio?" The answer: Toledo.   Before taking the position as the show's host, Friedman says he was afraid that the students would be unable to answer many of the questions, but that hasn't happened.  

"As a teacher who has been more interested in academics, it's so great to see these kids showcased for their brains," Friedman said. He likes the show's simple format because it enables the students to shine.   And other students can participate in the event as well. For instance, students from Jefferson and Westmoor each created a one-minute video with a voice-over narrative about their school, which is shown to both the studio and television audience between rounds. And at the television studio, four high school students serve in production-assistant positions.  

Each Saturday is different, depending on the students. During a tense moment in the last round, which requires lightning-quick responses, Westmoor's Bautista accidentally pushes the buzzer after his teammate incorrectly answers a question. That draws laughter from the audience and a sheepish apology from Bautista.

Jefferson's team wins the match 280-210 and advances to the second round -- a match against another winning school -- while Westmoor is knocked out of this year's competition.   Afterward, the stunned Jefferson team chats about how all their hard work and long hours of practice -- after school and during lunch -- has paid off.

But Nelson and Pang lament: "I don't want to watch myself on TV!"

Vaike Broderick of Pacifica, who was at the taping with her two daughters and two of their friends, ages 7 to 11, says "Quiz Kids" reminds her of the "College Bowl" when she was a kid. Lauren, 8, and Kelly, 7, declare they knew the answers to some of the science questions and would compete on the show when they got older as long as they could be on the same team.

Thomas Mohr, superintendent of San Mateo Union High School District, was also at the taping because Mills High School was competing later that day. He also praises the show.  

"I think it is terrific because it demonstrates to the public that we have many goal-oriented, hard-working young people engaged in their learning." Mohr says. "It's a reminder to everybody in the county that these are our children. It's also a demonstration of respect for the academic life."  

Anyone can attend a taping of "Quiz Kids" on Saturday afternoons, and all Peninsula high schools are encouraged to participate in the competition, although this year's schedule is booked.  

"Quiz Kids" producer Liz La Porte, a former English teacher, says the Peninsula community is responding positively to the show.  

"I go get my haircut in San Carlos and people know about the show," La Porte said. "The kids who are participating are not the football stars, the cheerleaders. They are the thinkers."  

So, who will win the trip to London? Watch the championship match May 4 to find out.  
Pop Quiz  
-- 1. This Irish-born American architect designed the White House.  
-- 2. During the election controversy in Florida, the media spotlight fell on this woman, who designed the butterfly ballot for Palm Beach County.  
-- 3. Name the MVP of this year's NBA All-Star Game.  
-- 4. When Teddy Roosevelt left the Republican Party in 1912, he formed this third party.  
-- 5. Helped by Franklin Roosevelt, this first Catholic to be nominated for president on a major ticket was not Kennedy, but a New York Democrat.  
-- 6. Neither Pittsburg nor Philadelphia is the capital of Pennsylvania. What smaller city is?  
-- 7. What is the name of the 100-mile-wide strait that separates Taiwan from the mainland of South China?  
-- 8. What is the name of the recurring mid-November meteorite showers?  
-- 9. Which mythological god carried the caduceus (Cad-oo-see-us) and wore winged slippers?  
-- 10. Seen on U.S. money, what is the meaning of the Latin expression "E Pluribus Unum"?  
-- 11. "Far From the Madding Crowd" is by what 19th century British novelist?  
-- 12. This Mississippi-born author and two-time Nobel laureate wrote the novels "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying."  
-- 13. 3 pi over 2 radians equals how many degrees?  

Answers:
1 -- James Hoban
2 -- Theresa Lapore
3 -- Allen Iverson
4 -- Progressive or Bull Moose Party
5 -- Al "Fred" E. Smith
6 -- Harrisburg
7 -- Formosa Strait
8 -- Leonids
9 -- Hermes or Mercury
10 --One out of many
11 -- Thomas Hardy
12 --William Faulkner
13 -- 270

Scoring:
12-13 correct -- Wow! Make plans for that week in London.
10-11 correct -- Impressive. A possible semifinalist.
8-9 correct -- Not bad. Might make it past the second round.
6-7 correct -- You had your moments. Might make it through the first round.
4-5 correct -- Didn't study much, did you?
3 or fewer correct -- Wow. That's not good.  

Quiz Show  
--"Quiz Kids" shows are broadcast at 8 p.m. Fridays through May 4 on Peninsula TV-26. The half-hour show is rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Sundays and at 6: 30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays.    
-- Tapings are on Saturdays at Peninsula TV-26's studio in the San Mateo County Transit District Office building, 1250 San Carlos Ave. in San Carlos. (650) 637-1936. 

Send comments to penfriday@sfchronicle.com.  

San Mateo County Times, May 22, 2000

Menlo-Atherton Quiz Kids Win Trip
The three student team members - senior Lyndsey Toeppen, 17, sophomore Robin Pam, 15, and freshman Daniel Barclay, 14 - beat San Mateo High School 300 to 230 in the final round of the two-month long trivia competition, which was narrowed down to the two schools from the 16 participating when the competition began in March.

It's exciting, it's really neat - it's just fun," said Pam, who practiced twice a week with the team since January, using trivial pursuit cards and old buzzers they found in a closet.

San Mateo High School team members - seniors Kathleen Weeks, Michael Levy, and Reamonn Stynnes - each got to take home Web TV's. In addition to the trips, Menlo-Atherton team members received the first Quiz Kids trophy, which the school will get to keep for a year.

Both teams said the experience brought them closer together. As Toeppen put it, "It's been such a bonding experience for everybody."

San Jose Mercury News, March 5, 2000

High school teams battle it out on new quiz program: students can win trip on cable tv show
"Forget about cheesy TV marriages to alleged millionaires. Now there's "Who wants to go with their brainy high school buddies on a free European tour!"

The San Mateo Bearcats and the Burlingame Panthers matched wits Saturday in the debut of "Peninsula Quiz Kids," a competition between 16 San Mateo County high school teams that will air on Peninsula TV, the county cable network, on March 24.

The fast-paced quiz show pinballs through a potpourri of categories: pop culture and current events, history and literature, math and science, entertainment and the arts, and sports. Winning teams move through the TV tournament to the May 20 championship, with the victorious team earning a nine-day trip to London, Paris, and Rome.

Inspired by the '60s-era "General Electric College Bowl," the half-hour quiz show is designed to showcase "the quality of students" on the Peninsula, executive producer Bob Marks explains to an audience packed with students, parents, local politicians - even cheerleading squads.

"I think people are going to be impressed not only with these kids' brains, but their personal poise and their character," Marks says as the pumped-up audience cheers wildly.

On a shoe-string budget, Pen TV transformed the San Mateo County Transit District auditorium into a glitzy, Hollywood-esque game-show set. As the cameras zoom in and the crowd buzzes with excitement, a campy quiz-show announcer booms: "Live on tape from Peninsula Television's studio high above beautiful downtown San Carlos, Pacific Bell presents Peninsula Quiz Kids!"

While Marks and his adult staff of professionals and volunteers sweat out opening night bugs, the three-member teams from San Mateo and Burlingame high schools are cool as cucumbers under the klieg lights.

"We're a very laid-back school," explains Burlingame Team Captain Debra Mao, 16, a junior who co-anchors and produces the school's daily news program while holding up a 4.4 grade point average.

Did the San Mateo team do any special cramming for the competition? "I hit Starbucks this morning for a grande mocha," says Bearcats Captain Kathleen Weeks, 17, an aspiring filmmaker.

The Bearcats draw the first blood when Reamonn, 17, nails that presidential hopeful George W. Bush owned the Texas Rangers. Before host Brad Friedman finishes saying, "Name the Republican senator from Utah who announced his presidential candidacy. . . " fellow Bearcat Michael Levy, 17, correctly answers: "Orrin Hatch."

Levy swiftly scores again: guessing right that eBay is the most popular online auction house and that Nobel-prize winning scientist Glenn Seaborg made his mark in chemistry.

Next came the one-on-one "face-off" round between Levy, specializing in history, and Diana Warden, 16, in math. Warden knows that the "radical sign" in math refers to square roots, while Levy knows that the Rhine River was a key boundary of the Roman Empire.

The tension mounts in the final team collaboration round, where captains can bet 20 or 40 points on questions with mounting difficulty. When a team answers incorrectly, the opposing school gets a shot at answering the question - and stealing the points.

It's a heart-pounding race to the buzzer. But you'll have to tune in to see who won.

The quiz kids themselves say that roller-coaster competition was way more important than who won. "It was exciting," say Prashant "PJ" Bharadwaj, 18, a Burlingame senior.

"At the end, we weren't even thinking about winning or losing," Mao says.