Science Olympiad, Discussion Notes, Provided by, Vicky Simpson, St. Francis Xavier

We have tentatively scheduled a meeting for Wednesday, January 7th at 1:30 at JD to share activities, write a mission statement, and finalize plans. We are thinking that we will start with an event a semester and then build on that.

As of now, this is kind of an outline of how this will work. Prior to the diocesan event, each participating middle school will have each of their students complete the same designated activity. Based on performance, individual students will be selected and advanced to the diocesan event. At the diocesan event, the students will be divided randomly into teams. Each team will then be made up of students from all participating schools. This way there is competition between teams and not schools and it gives the students a chance to interact with future classmates. Each team will then complete a similar activity to the one completed at the school level, however, this time the stakes are higher (more criteria will have to be met). Awards will likely be given to the top three teams.

For example: The original activity might be to build a box that will house a raw egg. The goal is to build the structure so that when it is dropped from 30 feet, the egg doesn't break. Based on success, students will move on to the diocesan event which will be similar but this time not only does the egg have to survive, but the container has to be the lightest, and it must hit a target.


We hope to meet the following goals with these Olympiads:

1. Encourage excitement for science.
2. Provide opportunities for students to shine in the science arena.
3. Provide opportunities to make real world math and science connections.
4. Build community within a school and between schools.
5. Provide an opportunity for students to work in teams sharing knowledge and building real world science experiences.
6. Increase success in high school science classes.


This is a general summary of where we are now. We are really excited about the possibilities with this idea! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.