Sending Science Olympiads To Nationals, One Pizza At A Time

The Science Olympiad team turned in its robots and gadgets for notepads and trays of pizza Monday night during a fundraiser at .

The students served a packed house some of the favorites from the local eatery to raise money to fund its trip to Wisconsin on Thursday. , the troupe (led by teacher Nancy Laposta-Frazier) is on to the National Science Olympiad Competition in Wisconsin – the first North Kingstown school to do so.

In case you were wondering, trekking 17 students to Wisconsin is no measly expense. The cost of sending just the students – excluding the three coaches, seven parents and alternates – is just around $17,000. Prior to Monday night, $7,000 had been gathered through fundraising. Though the school has helped foot much of the bill, parents and teachers are striving to find ways to support it through fundraising, including events such as Monday night’s dinner.

The 17 team members played wait staff for the night as a portion of every bill and all tips went toward their fundraising efforts.

“It’s such a win-win because it gets people to come and discover a local restaurant and helps the kids out, too,” said parent Libby Cirillo.

With a packed house, many seized the opportunity, including assistant coach Michael Frazier who celebrated his 60^th birthday Monday. Not to fret: he was presented with a cupcake cake for his dedication to the team…even on his birthday.

The team embarks for Wisconsin on Thursday, but there is still time to donate and help the cause. Contact WMS Principal Terry Merkel at terry_merkel@nksd.net for more details.