One
of two teams representing Marcellus Central School District placed eighth
overall – and both teams brought home a total of 19 medals – at the 2015
Mid-State Regional Science Olympiad held March 21 at Red Creek Central School
District.
The
district sent 27 students (16 on the “red” team representing grades 7 through
9, and 11 on the sixth-grade “green” team), to compete against 22 other teams
from around Central New York.
“Win or lose, our
Olympiad students develop character, learn an incredible amount of ‘STEM’
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) material, and gain skills as
problem solvers. I am very proud to be their coach!" said C.S. Driver
Middle School science teacher Hannah Naczi, who coaches the Marcellus teams
with K-6 science lab instructor Mary Jo Hoeft.
“Science
Olympiad gives participating students an
opportunity to embrace a positive risk, have a chance to delve deeper into
an area of interest and use and develop skills in problem-solving, creativity,
tenacity and innovation,” Ms. Hoeft said. “Parents and colleagues are very
supportive, and we appreciate all they do to help out. We tell our
first-year students to do their best, get their feet wet and gain understanding
of what the competition is all about. When they win a medal, they can see that
their hard work pays off and it’s icing on the cake!”
According to the
organization’s website, Science Olympiad is an international non-profit
organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing
student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding
achievement in science education by both students and teachers. These goals are
accomplished through classroom activities, research, training workshops and the
encouragement of intramural, district, regional, state and national
tournaments.
One of the goals
of the Science Olympiad is to elevate science education and learning to a level
of enthusiasm and support that is normally reserved only for varsity sports
programs. Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets,
consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division (Division B is middle
school; Division C is high school).
Each year, a portion of the events
are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science,
chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology. By
combining events from all disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages a wide
cross-section of students to get involved. This year’s competition covered life science, physical science, earth science, chemistry and engineering.
