Pleasantville's Science Olympiad "GEEKS" Score at NYS Competition

In its second year of state-level competition, and third year in existence, the Pleasantville Middle School’s Science Olympiad team - the GEEKS (Great Enthusiastic Educated Kid Scientists) – ranked 8th of 35 teams and placed in the Top Ten in 12 of 25 events, earning medals in six of them.

Last year, the team was awarded the Best Performance for a Small School Trophy, ranked 15th overall, and placed in the Top Ten in 4 of 25 events.

After the team’s 2nd place finish in the Regional competition on March 7, in a total of 20 events across all areas of science, the team had to select fifteen team members and two alternates and add 5 more events to compete at the state level. Each of these students, working mostly in pairs, tackled 2-5 events. They then proceeded to “Keep Calm and Geek On!” with the following medal-winning results: 2nd place, Simple Machines (Ella Furniss & Abhaya Ravikumar);

3rd place, Fossils (Julia Goodman);

3rd place, Elastic Glider (Katerina Gusarova & Lucas Lee);

4th place, Green Generation (Akimoto Cornelius & Chloe Peters);

5th place, Air Trajectory (Andrei Captan & Ella Furniss);

5th place, Anatomy (Iman Behbehani & Anisha Chandy).

Jonathan Hayes, Kayley Lewis, Nevan Lewis (alternate), Maya Sauthoff, Anu Subramanya, and Leif Martens Wallace (alternate) also contributed to the team’s overall showing, which included 9th place in Bio-Process Lab and Disease Detectives and 10th place in Crime Busters, Entomology, Solar System, and Write It/Do It.

Community members/head coaches Drs. Martha and Chuck Matteo worked with PMS Extended Learning Coordinator Melissa Brown to establish Science Olympiad as an Extended Learning activity. Both Matteos and teacher/coach Janine Fugarino are assisted by a host of volunteer coaches and the Middle School PTA, which has provided financial support for equipment, coaching-related expenses, and team travel.

Pictures courtesy of Allen Wallace