Students from St. Helen School in Newbury participated in the Elementary Science Olympiad at Case Western Reserve University on March 2.
Elementary Science Olympiad
Students from St. Helen School in Newbury participated in the Elementary Science Olympiad at Case Western Reserve University on March 2. The competition consisted of 25 different science related events ranging from identifying rocks and minerals to building a wooden bridge that supports the most weight to answering questions about the properties of light and solving a laser maze.
It was the first year that St. Helen School participated in the competition. Science teacher and team coordinator Natalie Hudak began recruiting students in grades four through six in December. Once students were assigned their specific events, they worked to study information, practice skills and build contraptions for their various events.
There were afterschool practices a couple days per week, but most of the students researched their topics independently, with a little bit of guidance and expertise from parents and other adults.
Sister Nancy Macdermott used her geology expertise to coach students in the Rock Hound events. Upon hearing that her students earned third place, she said, “I am so proud of these kids. They should be proud, too.”
Hudak echoes these same sentiments by saying, “The students were so dedicated and put in a lot of time outside school hours. It is inspiring to see how excited they are about science and was a pleasure to work with them.”
Seventeen students participated on the team this year. Out of 13 teams at the competition, St. Helen students earned third place medals for two events, fourth place medals in four events and fifth place medals in six events. But, more than all the awards, the students had a really great experience that they will remember for a long, long time.
