School District Five students shine at State Science Olympiad
Irmo, SC - Lexington-Richland School District Five had seven teams compete in the Regional South Carolina Science Olympiad in the middle school and high school divisions.
The competition consists of 23 different events and was held on February 23 at Newberry College.
The Irmo Middle School International Academic Magnet Science Team finished in first place in the middle school competition out 15 other teams for the win. Chapin Middle School finished in fourth place in the middle school division.
Out of 15 teams in the high school division, all four District Five high schools placed in the top five. Chapin High School finished in second place, Irmo High School finished in third place, Spring Hill High School finished in fourth place and Dutch Fork High School finished in fifth place.
“We are so proud of how hard these students worked to prepare for all of their events,” said Irmo Middle School science teacher and coach Brittany Frohnhoefer. “Each student was assigned 3-4 different events for which they had to gather materials, prepare notes, study, and ultimately test in. There were also pairs of students who had to design and build various projects to test on competition day.”
Science Olympiad offers interscholastic academic competition in biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, problem solving, and technology. Events have been designed to recognize the wide variety of skills that students possess. While some events require knowledge of scientific facts and concepts, others rely on science processes, skills or applications. This ensures that everyone can participate, including students from technology classes or advanced science classes.
To prepare for the competition, students met twice weekly since October making notes, studying, building and practicing calculations.
“The Science Olympiad is the culmination of months of hard work and preparation...to see these kids come out on top was fantastic,” said Irmo Middle School science teacher and coach Will Green. “These future scientists and engineers really worked together as a team and represented themselves and Irmo Middle so well.”
Students recognize that the competition is a lot of work, but say it is worth the sacrifices. Seventh grader Knox Robinson said, “My favorite part about being on science team is that you get to work together with people, who become your friends, while enjoying the competition”
"I am incredibly proud of the Irmo Middle School Science Team for winning first place at the South Carolina Science Olympiad Regional Competition,” said Irmo Middle School principal Cassy Paschal. “The students and teachers worked very hard after school and in the evenings to prepare for the competition. They were definitely Irmo Strong, All Day Long!"
The science team will compete next in the state competition on March 16 in Charleston. The state and national tournaments consist of a series of individual and team events, and there is a balance between events requiring knowledge of scientific facts, concepts, processes, skills, and science applications.
