Science team racks up awards at KSU

Nabila Pranto, Reporter, photographer|March 10, 2016

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Courtesy of Nena Tippens

Science Team: NC’s Science Team conquers another year of the Science Olympiad, “We really grew as a team because a lot of preparation was independent and Mrs.Tippens kept us on track, so it was a fun experience” says junior Ordonio.

NC’s Science Team led by ASR and Chemistry teacher Nena Tippens took on the Science Olympiad Regional Competition at KSU’s Marietta Campus on February 27, 2016. The day resulted in success, with the team winning first, second, and third places in many categories.

Juniors Courtney Wadley and Kimberly Nguyen won first place in Bridge Building, which surprised both students. “We worked on designing a good structure for the bridge during the club meeting and break and also spent a lot of time determining what wood and glue type to use to make the bridge as strong as possible, but still light,” Nguyen said.

Juniors Courtney Wadley and Kimberly Nguyen took first place in the Bridge Building competition.
Courtesy of Nena Tippens
Juniors Courtney Wadley and Kimberly Nguyen took first place in the Bridge Building competition.

Senior Michael Pardo along with senior Elana Lawson won second place for the Anatomy and Physiology category. Students also broke into event groups with teachers who specialized in their categories, and helped each other out by partnering up with their category of interest.

They also took home third Place for Green Generation went to seniors Ben Jones and Brandon Crasto, third Place in Dynamic Planet for junior Nadin Catak, third Place in GeoLogic Mapping for senior Justin Nguyen and Zack Sloope, fourth Place for Protein Modeling for seniors Zack Sloope and Justin Nguyen and fifth Place in Hydrogeology for seniors Brandon Crasto and Ben Jones

Senior David Kem and freshman Nathaniel Kem construct a glider made out of light material including wires and rubber bands. Their objective was to create a glider and see how long it could stay in the air.
Courtesy of Nena Tippens

Senior David Kem and freshman Nathaniel Kem construct a glider made out of light material including wires and rubber bands. Their objective was to create a glider and see how long it could stay in the air.

The Science Club met every Thursday from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM to prepare for this year’s competition, “To prepare for my Anatomy and Physiology event, I went through all of the notes I took when I was in Honors Anatomy that related to the specific systems in the body that were asked on the event packet,” Science Club Vice President, Pardo said.

“Doing the events with your friends really helps establish better communication. Nadian Catak and I competed in an event and it was really fun,” junior and third place winner for the Dynamic Planet, Andrea Ordonio said.

Some had the fortune to experience Science Olympiad for the first time. “This was a good experience because I was able to compete in events I’ve never competed in before. I didn’t do as bad as I thought. Next year I hope to have as much as fun as possible, and show what I know and learned,” junior and fourth place Protein Modeling winner, Marie Ow said.

Tippens and returning members of the Science team hope to reach State Competition next year. “I hope to see more students join science club and more medals to be won! I hope we pass down our knowledge to younger students to better prepare so they don’t make the same mistakes,” says Ordonio.