Middle Schoolers Compete in Science Bowl

By Holly Lehren

As an end-of-year event on June 15, South Orange Middle School put on the annual Science Bowl. Seventh grade teachers came together to let students battle Jeopardy-style with Anthony Cicenia, the Alex Trebek of SOMS, quizzing the competitors on science facts. That meant the two dozen students competing still had their head in their books a week after finals.

The event went back and forth before Team 7B took a slight lead by answering questions on the study of classification (taxonomy), but it was short-lived. Team 7A then earned a tremendous lead by answering questions worth 1,000 points.

To determine the true victors, a representative was picked from each team to answer a final question. I was put against Sophie Panzer, a friend and good scientist. We nervously waited as the Final Jeopardy question was read aloud by Mr. Cicenia:

List all the parts of the Cell Theory. (The cell theory was contributed by two German scientists, and tells what cells mainly do and what they are made of.)

I knew this and wrote: The parts of the cell theory are:

1. Cells are the main unit of structure and function in all living things.
2. All living things are made of cells.
3. All living cells are made up of other living cells.

Sophie and I both answered correctly. My social studies teacher was so excited he jumped up to high-five us. But what did we wager?

I had wagered a lot, but not enough to overcome the gap. We lost by 600 points. Team B has now been defeated for five years straight. There was comfort, though, in the loss. It was closest Team B has ever come to winning, Mr. Cicenia said. Maybe 7B's time to shine will come next year. Team 7A will be seeing some changes. Elizabeth Cicenia, my teacher's mother, is retiring as a science teacher and captain of Team 7A.

Holly Lehren is a seventh-grade student at South Orange Middle School.