Wareham High School might seem a little ghostly Jan. 7 – Jan. 8, when roughly 25 percent of its students leave the building.

The students will be competing in the Distributive Education Clubs of America’s regional competition Jan. 7 and Jan. 8. They will be undergoing rigorous 100-question exams, as well as role playing business scenarios for which they only have 10 minutes to prepare, said club co-advisor Cindy Sylvia.

“There will be a list of competencies they have to hit on,” Sylvia said of the scenarios. “They could involve OSHA standards for handling food, customer service, sales – during role play with a judge, they have to cover all five competencies.”

The Distributive Education Clubs of America is a nonprofit student organization that prepares students for the world of business and finance, and holds competitions to test their skills.

Sylvia said there are two eighth graders among the 105 students heading to competition. Though she is excited for them, she wants them to just get a feel for the competition this time around, rather than stressing themselves out trying to place into the state level.

“All I would really like for them to do is to have the experience, so they know what they need to do to prepare for next year,” Sylvia said.

There will be more than 1000 students competing at the regional level, Sylvia said. Of those 1000 students, just eight will go on to the state level. Those who place in the top four at state will go to nationals.

“The competition is stiff,” Sylvia said.

But what makes Sylvia smile the most is how enthusiastic the students are about the competition. Over the winter break, she said, there were more than 30 students who voluntarily came into school to work on their competition skills with club co-advisor Monice Maurice.

“It’s impressive to see the level of seriousness and the level they take academics to, and the importance they place on it,” Sylvia said. “It’s giving them something to rise to.”