Saturday, January 28th, Brentwood High School: Approximately forty-five Ward Melville Science Olympiad team members anxiously contemplate their impending exams at the New York Science Olympiad Eastern Long Island Division C Regional Competition. These Patriots did not have to worry – just ten hours later, they would receive the honor of first place at this competition.

The New York Science Olympiad is an organization designed to foster student scientific interest. Science Olympiad annually hosts regional competitions for twenty-two regions in New York State to give students a chance to prove their intellectual prowess in different fields of science.This year, Ward Melville sent three teams of approximately fifteen people each to the competition. Students competed in events covering a comprehensive spectrum of topics, from constructing robots, to analyzing a crime scene through forensic analysis, to simply taking a test on ecology or anatomy. Each event was allotted a precise amount of time for student completion, making mastery of the subject matter, quick decision-making skills, and cooperation skills a necessity for optimal performance.

A total of twenty-five different events were available to the Science Olympiad competitors. Each student participated in either three or four events, and were given the opportunity to work with two to three team members during the event. The participants of the event were then ranked in comparison with the other competitors, receiving a placement of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. The ranking numbers that each team received for the individual events were then added up to generate a team score. The teams with the lower scores were awarded higher placements for the regional competition as a whole.This is the 5th year in a row that Ward Melville has claimed 1st place at the Science Olympiad regional competition.

The top six teams at this competition qualify to compete at the state competition. The New York State competition will take place March 10-11th. Wish our Ward Melville Science Champions luck!