Science Olympiad is an elementary, middle school, or high school team competition that requires knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. There are twenty-four events in which competing teams face off on a single day. Events fall under three main categories: Science Concepts and Knowledge, Science Processes and Thinking Skills, and Science Application and Technology. They are either knowledge-based (i.e. written tests or laboratory tasks in earth science, physics, biology, and chemistry) or engineering-based (i.e. participants construct a device to do specified tasks). Orchard Middle School participates in: Division A2 for elementary school (grades 3-6). In order to qualify as a team member competing at Cleveland State University on Saturday, February 21, 2009, students must be active participants in the eight Thursday morning (7:45-8:30 am) introductory sessions. Team placement is based on attendance, performance, and homework completion during these eight weeks. Students who love science but do not wish to participate in the Saturday competition are encouraged to attend the sessions and have “science fun” with us. Our first STUDENT meeting is Thursday, September 25th at 7:45 am. It will be an introductory meeting. Students should listen for announcements that will remind them of the time and the place of this first meeting. Sessions will continue every Thursday morning that we are in school up until Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, the teams will be announced and meetings will begin with those members. Members of our Orchard Science Olympiad team, the children who will be competing at Cleveland State University, need to understand that, by accepting a spot on the team, they are committing to being able to attend the competition on Feb. 21st. The children also need to understand that being a Science Olympiad team member entails working as a team member, meeting 3-4 times a school week from Dec. 1st through February 21st, and completing work, learning, and research at home in the evenings and weekends. All team members will gain knowledge, understanding, new friends, and a life-long memory. |
