Latest news with #ScienceOlympiad
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
All they do is win, win, win at Merrimack High School
There's nothing trivial about Merrimack High School's success, students, teachers and parents say. And it's not just the Tomahawks' tenacious trivia team that triumphed for the first-ever three-peat in the New Hampshire high school TV quiz show 'Granite State Challenge' and dynastic fifth title in six years. The dominant big brains and talented students fan out over multiple avocations and disciplines. The Music Department had 19 All-State musicians and singers this year. The FIRST Robotics team recently made it to the World Championships, their third time in four years. The Science Olympiad team placed third in the state for its STEM expertise. Excellence is clearly not mutually exclusive at MHS. There's plenty of crossover and cross-pollination. Success begets success for kids in multiple specialties. Take for example, Erin Murray, a senior who captained the Granite State Challenge team this year and was on the team that won the title last year. Murray has also been selected for the New Hampshire Music Educators Association All-State Festival two years running as a vocalist. 'Honestly, at this point, I think we've created a culture around winning. Every year that excitement, that winning excitement rubs off on everyone else,' Murray said last week after the watch party for the Granite State Challenge championship on New Hampshire PBS. Tim Bevis, a senior captain of the FIRST Robotics team, known as Chop Shop 166, could've been on the Granite State Challenge team or perhaps even an all-state soloist as well, but there's only so much time in the day, he said. For him, the secret to Merrimack's success is dedicated teachers and an it-takes-a-village mentality that empowers students. 'The thing that it comes down to, from my perspective, is the teachers and mentors in those positions,' Bevis said. 'Dr. (Sara) Campbell, who runs the Granite State Challenge team, is incredibly dedicated to that and she passes that down to her students. Mr. (RJ) Beck and Mr. (Brendan) McWalter in the chorus and band department are incredibly dedicated to their job. And the students and the mentors here are incredibly dedicated to us (on FIRST Robotics).' Chop Shop 166 has a network of alumni, friends, parents, teachers and former coaches that continue to come back year after year. For the music department, this year has been especially rewarding with nine students making the All-State Festival for concert band, three students being selected for the orchestra, two students making the treble choir and five students making it onto the mixed choir after auditioning. 'A big part of our success is how strong our middle and elementary school programs are, especially our middle school band director, Holly Levine,' said Beck, the chorus director and music teacher. Last week, Merrimack Middle School's Levine was named the Outstanding Band Director of the Year by the New Hampshire Band Directors Association. McWalter, the high school band director, credited flexibility in the teachers' schedules to provide opportunities for real, one-on-one instruction and deeper individual lessons. He also praised the painstaking work of their predecessors, Patricia Cunningham and Ken Dugal. 'This program didn't just all of a sudden get here. We had teachers before us that really worked hard to build this program to where it is today,' said McWalter, who is in his second year at MHS. 'It was a long build.' School Board recognition The FIRST Robotics team was honored at last week's Merrimack School Board meeting, and Everett Olsen, the district's chief educational officer (superintendent) summed up the success of those students and other groups in the public school system. 'Sometimes taxpayers will use the terminology 'return on investment' and tonight was a prime example of the investment paying off in terms of some of the most outstanding students in the country right here,' Olsen said. School Board members said they will continue to honor the achievements of other student groups at upcoming meetings, but the list is long. Musical chops The All-State musicians at Merrimack High School include: Caoimhe Boyle Latzko, Rachael Cirillo, Ian Desilets, Jamie Halvorson, Leah Jobin, Paige Mason, Hikari McDowell, Colin Plumb and Dave Sharma. Plumb was also accepted as a tenor vocalist. McDowell and Sharma achieved the top scores for the tenor and baritone saxophones, respectively. Sean Jalbert, Ben Ricks and Owen Sabens made the All-State orchestra. Among the singers, Ava Lanier and Erin Murray were selected for the treble choir. Adelina Camerlin, Emmy Hartwell, Ben Pittman, Tristan Plumb and Simon Yasevich were part of the All-State mixed choir. Scientific swagger This was one of the most successful years in Chop Shop history with the team earning four medals and one blue banner. This year they won the Impact Award, the Engineering Inspiration Award, and finished as Event Finalist, twice. The team set new records, and were part of the winning alliance at the World Championships. Junior Laura Bevill of the FIRST Robotics team said the 'secret sauce' in Merrimack comes from the students pushing each other and being able to showcase their many different talents. FIRST Robotics has something for just about everybody from STEM skills to project management, communications and marketing. 'It's really about the ambition of the students,' she said. 'It takes a team to make something this good. It takes the efforts of every single person on this team to make something work.' Bevill said the best part of FIRST Robotics is the diversity of what students can learn. 'It's really all the opportunities you get, that fulfillment of just working and seeing what you put in can be put out right back to you like a boomerang, and being able to see the progression of people growing and gaining skills,' Bevill said. 'Being able to go from anywhere, from marketing standpoint to learning how a robot works.' For upcoming events or to learn more about Chop Shop 166, visit Unchallenged champs Led by teachers Campbell and Liz Dumais, the Granite State Challenge team doesn't rebuild, it reloads. Merrimack holds the GSC records for most championships (five) and most appearances (24) in the tournament. The Tomahawks easily dispatched the Tilton Rams, 570-310, in the championship, which aired May 15 on NHPBS but was taped in January. It was a tough task for students and parents not to let the news out until the final show. But that's become part of the routine and a running gag by Campbell, senior Maeve LaRock said. Every year Campbell has to hide her trophies for a while behind a poster with a different saying each year. This year, it read, 'Not a Trophy 5: Merrimack Strikes Back.' 'Everybody said, oh it was a rebuilding year for us. Yeah, it was a completely new team and I was completely new. I was excited to just go and do it all. Of course, there was a lot of pressure, but I was like, 'I'm going to do this. Let's go win,'' LaRock said. A senior, LaRock is also vice president of the Student Council and a former field hockey and lacrosse player. She plans to play rugby at the University of New Hampshire next year. Her best friend, Erin Murray, also had a little pressure on her shoulders in her second year on the team and as captain, and not just from her peers, from her own family. 'I have an older brother who was on the team for two years before me, and I have a younger brother who will hopefully be on the team next year. So, we have a little bit of a legacy going on,' Murray said. Campbell credited the kids' commitment to putting in the work, even one things like making sure they can buzz in faster than other teams to answer questions. Virtually no detail is too small for MHS to practice. 'It's the kids. I don't know if you noticed, but two of my kids who we were just celebrating, they're cleaning up now,' Campbell said after the team's championship watch party at the school. 'They asked where the broom was so they could clean up. That is entirely them and their parents. I have a little bit to do with it, but they're pretty much fully formed when they get to me.' Overall excellence Campbell said she's regularly amazed at how dedicated the kids are at MHS, and not just for Granite State Challenge. 'The students who have that work ethic tend to get involved in more than one thing, because they have a lot of passions. So they find those things that they love, and they get super-involved in all the things that they love,' Campbell said. 'I had a student one year who had the Science Olympiad, FIRST Robotics and a Quiz Bowl thing, all in one weekend. It was state-level competitions for all three. By the end, he was a little fried, but he was that involved and invested in all three of those things.' dpierce@
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'When it happened, it was bedlam. They were so happy.'
Apr. 23—URBANA — In the fall of 2022, two Urbana High School freshmen approached biology teacher Jeff Birdsley with an idea: They wanted to enter the Science Olympiad. And they wanted Birdsley as their coach. Birdsley's initial response: "What's that?' Because it wasn't a thing when I was a student." They explained it, and Birdsely said, "No." He had plenty on his plate already, with teaching and coaching Urbana's swim teams. "I just didn't have time." But within a few weeks, Birdsley stepped down from the boys' swim program, freeing up time for Science Olympiad. Good thing. After failing to qualify for the state finals the first year in 2023, Urbana finished 13th in '24. That set up one of the best finishes ever by an Urbana High School team in any activity: a second-place finish on April 12. Lisle High School won the competition. "We had a goal this year to place top five at state, thought that was realistic," Birdsley said. "The second-place finish was unexpected. Kind of a roller-coaster. When it happened, it was bedlam. They were so happy. The camaraderie was so fantastic." Urbana had six gold medalists in their events: * Colin Guth and Elliot Anderson, wind power. * Elliot Anderson and Natalie Pociask, helicopter. * Natalie Pociask and JJ Lee, materials science. * JJ Lee and Colin Guth, robot tour. * Cecelia Birdsley and Sydney Goeddel, entomology. Urbana's additional state medalists included: * Neha Bhargava and Mia Schroeder, optics. * Mia Schroeder and Natalie Pociask, forensics. * Cecelia Birdsley and Sydney Goeddel, bungee drop. The late-afternoon awards ceremony was held at historic Huff Hall. "It's just great for the culture at Urbana High School," Birdsley said, "Many thanks to my athletic director (Steve Waller) and principal (Jesse Guzman) for supporting us through this. They obviously know the value of having extra-curriculars." The second-place trophy will be going into the case at Urbana High School. And the final step to No. 1 seems like a good bet in 2026. Most of the team returns, including the core group of 11 freshmen who got the ball rolling back in '22. "I tell the kids, 'You absolutely have a chance to win a state championship next year,'" Birdsley said. Urbana competes in Division IA. Schools are seeded. Among the schools in Urbana's division were Palatine, Barrington, Urbana University High, Champaign Central and Centennial. Uni High finished fourth, and St. Thomas More finished in eighth place. "That marks the first time Urbana has ever come out ahead of Uni in the Science Olympiad," Birdsley said. "The kids were just as proud of that as the second-place finish." The stage The Science Olympiad is an annual state competition held on the University of Illinois campus. Teams of 15 students compete in 23 events. Every branch of science and engineering is represented: creating towers, bridges, helicopters, planes and ping-pong cannons on the building side. Most of the events are test-taking in various science disciplines. Fans and coaches were allowed to watch the building events. But the tests are students-only. To reach state, schools advance from a local competition. Urbana was at Parkland College this year, where it finished second and earned a spot in the state finals. Uni High won the local competition. It is a lot of work for the students. Nights and weekends. "Many, many, many hours of studying and preparing," Birdsley said. "They go home and make themselves experts on insects or build the best ping-pong air cannon that they could possibly build." The Urbana team had meetings before and after school, talking about goals. Looking ahead, the team will reconvene in September. A list of events for the 2026 Olympiad will be announced and the Tigers will start preparation. "I try to get kids into something they are going to get passionate about," Birdsley said. Background check Urbana had a Science Olympiad program in the 1990s and early 2000s. There are several regional trophies at the high school, but no state trophies. Until now. The school celebrated the accomplishments, with daily announcements the following week. Birdsley carried the trophy around the school. Birdsley has been a teacher at Urbana High School since 2020. He and his wife, Becky Fuller, who is on the UI faculty, have lived in Urbana for 20 years. Their son Sam is an Urbana High School graduate. Their daughter Cecelia has been a member of Science Olympiad from the start and is also an Urbana swimmer. This year, fellow Urbana High School biology teacher Alex Riley, a UI graduate, joined the team as a co-coach. His first year at the school was in 2023. "This was Alex's year to learn how Science Olympiad works and how to coach it," Birdsley said. "I'm still learning how to coach it." Birdsley and Riley welcome any student interested in participating.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Homeschool team wins state Science Olympiad Tournament
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A homeschool group in Colorado Springs has won the state title in a Science Olympiad tournament for both middle and high school. The Science Olympiad is a nationwide STEM competition, providing standards-based challenges to 6,600 teams at 425 tournaments in all 50 states. This latest competition was on April 5 at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), and Homeschool Science Colorado took home the gold. 'I feel ecstatic about it,' said Lydia Wickerham, who is in Division C of the Science Olympiad. 'None of us were really expecting it this year.' Cindy Puhek, head coach of the homeschool team, said the teams won the tournament against 30 other teams in each division that represented schools from all across the state. This is the third time the high school division has won the title, but the first time for the middle school division since 2021. 'It really is teamwork,' Puhek said. 'You have to do well across all 23 events to win, so you have to have everybody committed.' While most students are already accustomed to deadlines and working with others, Puhek said this is a challenge that homeschool students in general must overcome. 'Having hard and set deadlines, because within homeschool, sometimes we can let things slide, but a tournament is a tournament and that deadline is hard and fast,' Puhek said. 'The soft skills, being able to work as part of a team and work with partners, I think, is critical.' The students said they have created not only friendships to last a lifetime, but built those skills to give them a leg-up in life as well. 'Meeting new people, creating a network of young scientists and preparing me for my future in college,' Wickerham said. Homeschool Science Colorado will represent the state of Colorado at the National Science Olympiad Tournament at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on May 23-24. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Greenbrier's Aidan Raymer tops close Student of the Week poll for esports, STEM, robotics
Aidan Raymer of Greenbrier High School is the latest Tennessean Student of the Week winner in a category that combined the best esports, STEM and robotics students nominated from area schools. There were seven nominees and every student had well over 1,200 votes. Raymer snagged 25,744 votes. Creek Wood High's Landon Sawyers came in second with 20,905 votes. A junior, Raymer excelled in robotics and is also an outstanding student who is involved in multiple activities at Greenbrier. Sawyers excels in esports and was described as the driving force behind his team at Creek Wood. The Tennessean asks Middle Tennessee high school principals, guidance counselors, teachers and staff to send us their best students in different categories throughout the school year for our Student of the Week feature. We then let you, the reader, decide who deserves the title by voting in our weekly poll. Check on April 14, to vote in our next poll. Here is a look at all the students nominated for the most recent poll and what was said about each by those who made the nominations. His contributions "have redefined what's possible through esports," Landon's nominator said. Landon displays athletic passion and determination to overcome any obstacle and was integral to an undefeated Unified Esports League regional championship. This achievement was a testament to Landon's unwavering spirit and leadership. As an athlete with special needs, he has been the heart and soul of his team; through his infectious humor, relentless drive, and ability to unite his teammates. The junior has been on the esports team since his freshman year and has been the team captain for the past two years. Braden manages team communications and scheduling and is in charge of running practice sessions while taking several honors and AP classes. The freshman has stood out as a well-rounded and driven student, excelling in computer programming languages, while actively participating in Band and the Science Olympiad team. Malachi is enrolled in honors classes and currently pursuing his first CompTIA certification as he exemplifies the spirit of a future STEM and Cyber leader in Tennessee. A sophomore in the school's Academy of Engineering, Fynn started as a coder, but manufactures parts on 3D printers, and is a driver as well. Fynn was able to press an Alpha controller back into service when Beta lost all WiFi capability during a technology event. Fynn is described as being willing to listen to ideas and can improvise when necessary. The sophomore and second-year robotics student has stood out by being willing to try and learn new things and his willingness to work well with others and help when needed. Dylan has managed his team and excelled at documenting the design process with the engineering notebook. Dylan is described as having a "can-do" attitude that makes him an ideal leader. A leader in the classroom and with the robotics team, this junior leads his team and gives every member the opportunity to be involved and provide ideas. He is also very involved in other extracurricular activities and clubs here at GHS. He has a 4.0 grade point average and is enrolled in Dual Enrollment classes. He just finished directing a short film for his Audio Visual class. He was featured by Channel 2 as a Student Musician of the Month in October 2024. The robotics team member at Beech had the drive that was crucial in starting a VEX V5 robotics team at the school. Adam came in as a freshman who had been on the robotics team at Knox Doss Middle and wanted to pursue robotics in high school. Adam showed he was very well versed in robotics building and coding and with he and his teammate's level of confidence the school was able to start a new team. Adam and his teammate worked hard to develop their robot and code it to perform in school competitions. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@ and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN Greenbrier's Aiden Raymer tops Tennessean Student of the Week poll
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The Tennessean Student of the Week returns: Vote now for best in Esports, STEM, robotics
What do robotics, STEM and Esports have in common? A whole bunch of math, and some really bright students. It's also the focus of this week's Tennessean Student of the Week poll. Seven students were nominated after The Tennessean asked Middle Tennessee high schools to send us their best in robotics, STEM and Esports. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the terminology, here's a crash course: Robotics involves the design, construction and use of robots. STEM is an acronym ― Science, Technology, Engineering and Math ― that refers to an educational field using all 4 interconnected disciplines. And Esports, short for electronic sports, refers to organized video game competitions. Each week during the school year, The Tennessean asks Middle Tennessee high school principals, guidance counselors, teachers and staff to send us their best students in different categories for our Student of the Week feature. We then let you, the reader, decide who deserves the title by voting in our weekly poll. Check on Monday morning to vote in our next poll at the link below. Remember, voting ends at noon on Thursday, so be sure to vote early. But first, learn more about the students nominated in this week's poll and what their nominators said about them: His contributions "have redefined what's possible through esports," Landon's nominator said. Described as the driving force behind his team, Landon has the athletic passion and determination to overcome any obstacle. He was integral to Tennessee's first-ever undefeated Unified Esports League Regional Championship. This achievement was a testament to Landon's unwavering spirit and leadership. As an athlete with special needs, he has been the heart and soul of his team; through his infectious humor, relentless drive, and ability to unite his teammates. He embodies the true spirit of esports. The junior has been on the esports team since his freshman year and has been the team captain for the past two years. Braden manages team communications and scheduling and is in charge of running practice sessions while taking several honors and AP classes. The freshman has stood out as a well-rounded and driven student, excelling in computer programming languages, while actively participating in Band and the Science Olympiad team. Malachi is enrolled in honors classes and currently pursuing his first CompTIA certification as he exemplifies the spirit of a future STEM and Cyber leader in Tennessee. A sophomore in the school's Academy of Engineering, Fynn started as a coder, but manufactures parts on 3D printers, and is a driver as well. Fynn was able to press an Alpha controller back into service when Beta lost all WiFi capability during a technology event. Fynn is described as being willing to listen to ideas and can improvise when necessary. The sophomore and second-year robotics student has stood out being willing to try and learn new things and his willingness to work well with others and help when needed. Dylan has managed his team and excelled at documenting the design process with the engineering notebook. Dylan is described as having a "can-do" attitude that makes him an ideal leader. A leader in the classroom and with the robotics team, this junior leads his team and gives every member the opportunity to be involved and provide ideas. He is also very involved in other extracurricular activities and clubs here at GHS. He has a 4.0 grade point average and is enrolled in Dual Enrollment classes. He just finished directing a short film for his Audio Visual class. He was featured by News 2 as a Student Musician of the Month in October 2024. The robotics team member at Beech had the drive that was crucial in starting a VEX V5 robotics team at the school. Adam came in as a freshman who had been on the robotics team at Knox Doss Middle and wanted to pursue robotics in high school. Adam showed he was very well versed in robotics building and coding and with he and his teammate's level of confidence the school was able to start a new team. Adam and his teammate worked hard to develop their robot and code it to perform in the school's competitions that got off to a good start and is planning for next year. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@ and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Esports. STEM. Robotics. The Tennessean Student of the Week is back
