High school, junior high Science Olympiad teams place first at Gulf-South Regional Competition
On Saturday February 18, the Gulf South Regional Science Olympiad competition was held at Pearl River Community College. Many high school and junior high students, from South Mississippi, competed in the science based competitions, including students from St. Patrick Catholic High School. Both the Irish junior and high school teams placed first overall. The Irish teams will advance to the state competition at the University of Southern Mississippi on March 31.
Science Olympiad is an organization that has the intent of improving education in many fields of science through active learning and competition. This organization helps students realize their passion for science in students of all ages, helps to create teamwork, and lets students witness the different fields of science through their eyes.
The competitions for Science Olympiad are intense and require a lot of preparation. There many different team events and fifteen students are allowed to compete from each school team. The different events include all different fields of science including chemistry, genetics, and mechanical engineering. Lauren Skinner, a member of the team commented on the competition. “The competition went great and I was proud of everyone’s hard work!” Students placed in the following events.
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Junior High Team |
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| Anatomy | 1st place- Claire Wingfield and Gavriella Persing |
| Crime Busters | 2nd place- Claire Wingfield and Gavriella Persing |
| Disease Detectives | 2nd place- Anthony Bui and Diego Riojas |
| Ecology | 1st place- Joseph Hebert and Jacob Roberts |
| Reach for the Stars | 1st place- Jasmine Stawarski and Jacob Roberts |
| Scrambler | 1st place- Claire Wingfield and Gabriella |
| Rocks and Minerals | 2nd place- Jack Dent and Sawyer Stone |
| Towers | 3rd place- Kelsey Descher and Jasmine Stawarski |
| Wind Power | 2nd place- Beyla Bleichner and Jasmine Stawarski |
|
High School Team |
|
| Anatomy | 2nd place- Matthew Bisner and Natallie Noel |
| Chemistry Lab | 2nd place- Lauren Skinner and Stephan Azar |
| Disease Detectives | 1st place- Christina Parry and Stephan Azar |
| Ecology | 2nd place- Raven Gonsoulin and Amelie Million |
| Forensics | 2nd place- Lauren Skinner and Natallie Noel |
| Electric Vehicle | 2nd place- Tyler Fulmer and Ryan Adderholdt |
| Helicopter | 3rd place- Will McMackin and Spencer Wingfield |
| Hydrogeology | 3rd place- Ryan Adderholdt and Max Grill |
| Rocks and Minerals | 3rd place- Spencer Wingfield and Matthew Bisner |
| Towers | 2nd place- Christina Parry and Ryan Adderholdt |
| Wind Power | 3rd place- Amelie Million and Raven Gonsoulin |
| Write It/Do It | 3rd place- Richard Springer and JR Riojas |
Story by Natallie Noel