SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAM PLACES 7TH IN HISTORIC BEARSO TOURNAMENT

The Middle School Science Olympiad Team competed in its first tournament of the season on Saturday, October 10. This was both the largest Science Olympiad Tournament ever held and the first live tournament conducted entirely in a virtual format. Nearly 100 teams representing 57 middle schools from 26 states participated in the competition, including many nationally ranked teams. FSA was awarded the 7th place team trophy. Team members were particularly pleased to finish six places above rival Dodgen Middle School from Marietta.

“This was a great tournament,” said FSA head coach Pam Walsh. “We didn’t really know what to expect with Science Olympiad this year given the pandemic.” A typical Science Olympiad tournament includes 23 events covering biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and engineering. Students work with a partner to demonstrate their knowledge of the topic by completing lab activities, demonstrating a device they have engineered, and taking a test.

Adapting to a virtual format took a team of volunteers all summer. They designed and developed an on-line platform that allows students to work as partners on tests. Virtual lab and engineering tasks were created to mimic tasks that would typically be included in a tournament. “The system worked beautifully,” said Mrs. Walsh. “We set up a virtual home base using Zoom so students could check in and let us know how things were going throughout the day. It was a bit different, but still felt very much like a tournament. I give a lot of credit to our sixth graders who were competing in their first tournament. They’ve only been attending Science Olympiad classes for a few weeks and they did great!”