D47 Schools Earn Accolades in Science Olympiad Competitions

Students from all three District 47 middle schools -- Lundahl, Bernotas and Hannah Beardsley -- participated and earned medals at regional Science Olympiad competitions held in January to March of this year.

Hannah Beardsley’s team, led by Beth Theiss, earned a bid to state at the regional competition on March 10th and placed 4th in Division B at the state competition at the University of Illinois on April 21, 2018. The HBMS Science Olympiad team placed among the top five in 11 events.

According to Theiss, “Science Olympiad is such a wonderful opportunity for our students because it blends the excitement of a competitive sport with academics.” Theiss noted that they had very stiff competition at the state level as many schools have more than one Science Olympiad team and take only their best Olympiads to state. “I am so proud of our team. They put in many hours of hard work building and studying for their events.”

At the regional competition at Harper College on March 17th, Lundahl Middle School’s team, led by Annette Rafferty, was awarded medals in two categories -- mystery architecture and roller coasters -- and the Lundahl team won the spirit award. In January, the Bernotas Science Olympiad team, led by Julie Post, attended the first regional competition in Rockford, where six team members earned a medal. The Bernotas team also attended the regional competition at Harper College and earned medals in such events as disease detective, optics and the solar system.

Science Olympiad is an after school program open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders who wish to further their pursuit of science. In District 47, the 15-member Science Olympiad teams at Bernotas and Lundahl are comprised of 7th and 8th graders. At Hannah Beardsley, the Science Olympiad team also includes 6th graders, who this year make up one-third of the team. To participate, students must submit an application and obtain teacher recommendations.

Science Olympiad teams meet weekly throughout the year (late fall to early March) to prepare for the regional competitions, which typically consist of 23 testing, lab and building events that encompass such scientific disciplines as earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. In order to compete, students are required to take written tests, perform labs, or construct projects like hovercrafts, towers or roller-coasters. As students prepare for these competitions, they work in pairs and divide up the work. Planning and labs are done at the school under the direction of a coach/ staff member, but the “builds” are primarily done at home, occasionally with the help of parents. Photos and video are taken along the way and shared with the school coach, who monitors students’ progress.

“I thought that Science Olympiad was a wonderful and enriching experience,” said Avnish Khandeshi, a 6th grader at Hannah Beardsley. “It meant a lot since I learned so much from it. Anybody interested and willing to work hard should join!”