Members of Wareham High School’s DECA club returned from the January 6-7 district conference in Hyannis with a pile of medals, plaques, and trophies – and the selection of many members to move on to statewide competition in March.

DECA is an organization of business students. The conference competition tested Wareham’s 77 participants and hundreds of other students from 12 other schools on their knowledge of marketing and management and their performance in related role-playing exercises.

The day-long competition included:  Written tests in specific areas such as Hospitality and Tourism, Finance, and Marketing. A role-playing exercise for which students prepared in advance for a mock job interview or marketing presentation, a similar role-playing exercise with only 10 minutes to prepare after being given the topic at the conference, and a 100-question exam in marketing and management.

And when the results were announced, Wareham did well.

Of the 77 Wareham students attending, 40 received first-, second-, or third-place medals for performance on individual tests.

Thirty-five Wareham students received plaques for earning an average score in the top 10 for their area of study. Fifteen Wareham students earned trophies for placing in the top 3 for their area of study.

In the marketing and management test given to all the students, the top four scores at the district conference were earned by Wareham students.

And Wareham High was the only participating school to have 100% of its DECA students score above the national average in one or more of their written exams.

What’s next? In March, Wareham will be loading up the buses again and heading up to Boston for the state competition – competing to represent Massachusetts in Orlando, Florida, at the International Career Development Conference in April.

Participating students would like to give a special thants to chaperones Barbara Thomas, Laurie Martins, Judy DeBonise, and Marjoie Rakoski and teacher/advisors Cindy Sylvia, Susan Nobrega, and Brian Nobrega.