Despite the severe weather earlier in the week, a record turnout enjoyed the 2019 District 64 Science Olympiad conducted on Saturday, February 2 at Emerson Middle School. District 64 continued to smash all-time records for participation as 471 students in grades 3-5 engaged in the fun competition.
Working in teams and representing their home schools in this extracurricular program, students have been busy practicing through the winter to compete in one of five events. Each event is sponsored by one of the elementary schools PTO/As.
The competition was especially stiff in the egg drop, with almost half the students competing in this category!
Congratulations to all who participated in the Olympiad, and especially to the 2019 medalists:
Egg Drop Event - Teams of two make an egg catching device that will prevent a raw egg from breaking when dropped from increasing heights. Winners are based on highest drops without damage to the egg.
1st Place TWO-WAY TIE (Gold Medal):
- Franklin School Team - (grade 5) Zachary Griesenauer, Annabelle Izzi and Maria Korovilas
- Franklin School Team - (grade 5) Panayiotis Sotos and Marco Urso
2nd Place (Silver Medal) - Franklin School Team - (grade 4) Emerson DeLaCruz and Jenna Elliott
3rd Place THREE-WAY TIE (Bronze Medal):
- Franklin School Team - (grade 4) Emma Erickson and Aleena Woodrich
- Carpenter & Roosevelt School Team - (grade 5 Roosevelt) Quinlan Castellanos, (grade 4 Carpenter) Domenic Conversa and (grade 4 Carpenter) Joaquin Fabregas
- Roosevelt School Team - (grade 3) Timmy Syjud and Lucas Brentanos
Mystery Box Event - Teams of two identify the characteristics of mystery objects using senses other than sight. Students record their observations on a data chart. The team with the most accurate observations wins the competition.
1st Place (Gold Medal) - Washington School Team - (grade 5) John Hachigian and Henry Sandrik
2nd Place (Silver Medal) - Field School Team - (grade 5) Aribella Spandiary and Heather Thomas
3rd Place (Bronze Medal) - Washington School Team - (grade 5) Sophia Aslanides and Marco Barta
Rubber Band Catapult Event - Teams design and construct a catapult that shoots a rubber band at a target placed within a chosen range. Students also present a graph of previous practice results. Winners are based on shooting accuracy plus quality of graph.
1st Place TWO-WAY TIE (Gold Medal):
- Field & Franklin School Team - (grade 5 Field) Boston Jackson and (grade 5 Franklin) Amie Mantilla
- Washington School Team - (grade 4) Adam Cehic and David Mazurek
2nd place (Silver Medal) - Carpenter & Washington School Team - (grade 3 Carpenter) Roxanne Sadleir and (grade 3 Washington) Hannah Henningsen
3rd place TWO-WAY TIE (Bronze Medal):
- Field School Team - (grade 4) Isabella Grimaldi and Samantha Podgorny
- Roosevelt School Team - (grade 4) Tim Monak, Sam Ott and Peter La Placa
Structures Event - Teams build skyscraping structures with straws and pins. Students who build the tallest, freestanding structure win the competition.
1st Place (Gold Medal) - Franklin School Team - (grade 5) Grace Cioromski and Emily Cook
2nd Place (Silver Medal) - Field School Team - (grade 4) T.J. Jackson, Seamus Kerrigan and Steven Koulouris
3rd Place TWO-WAY TIE (Bronze Medal):
- Washington School Team - (grade 5) Arshawn Saket, Simon Zwierczyk and Ramin Yousefi (Schirazi)
- Field School Team - (grade 3) Nathan Looby, Diego Louise and Charlie Sperry
Aerodynamics Event - Partners design a paper airplane and throw for accuracy at a target 8 meters (26.3 feet) away. The team that throws with the greatest accuracy wins the competition.
1st Place (Gold Medal) - Field School Team - (grade 5) Elizabeth Alexandru and Maddalyn Riddle
2nd Place (Silver Medal) - Washington School Team - (grade 5) Michael Nelson, David Piotrowski and Brian Weiss
3rd Place (Bronze Medal) - Franklin School Team - (grade 3) Ronan Brosnan, Matthew Culbertson and Shane Lavaccare