Marcellus students captured science awards

Marcellus captures third place, 52 medals at regional Science Olympiad

The Driver Middle School Science Olympiad team came in third place out of 23 teams and brought home a record 52 individual medals and a team trophy from the 2019 Mid-State Regional Science Olympiad, which was held March 9 at North Syracuse Junior High School.

The sixteen students who represented Marcellus are as follows: Ninth grade: Gabe Hoag, Grady Germain and Mason Grieb, Eighth grade: Lila Kelly, Justin West, Kieran Capozzi, Delaney Glass, Ava Aupperle, Nate Alexander, Will Kirk and Anella Bolster, Seventh grade: Cameron Sadler, Logan McShane, Addy Moses, Park Kammer and Zoe Case

“I am so proud of these kids!” Marcellus science teacher and Olympiad faculty adviser Hannah Naczi said.

The state competition is in April.

According to the organization’s website, Science Olympiad is an international non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. These goals are accomplished through classroom activities, research, training workshops and the encouragement of intramural, district, regional, state and national tournaments.

One of the goals of the Science Olympiad is to elevate science education and learning to a level of enthusiasm and support that is normally reserved only for varsity sports programs.Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division (Division B is middle school; Division C is high school). Each year, a portion of the events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology. By combining events from all disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages a wide cross-section of students to get involved. Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on group participation. Through Science Olympiad, students, teachers, parents, principals and business leaders bond together and work toward a shared goal.

Here’s how individual students placed in the regional competition’s categories:

Anatomy & Physiology, fourth place: Gabe Hoag, Delaney Glass

Battery Buggy, fourth place: Logan McShane

Boomilever, eighth place: Ava Aupperle

Circuit Lab, fourth place: Kieran Capozzi, Addy Moses

Crime Busters, sixth place: Cameron Sadler, Zoe Case

Density, sixth place: Kieran Capozzi, Justin West

Disease Detectives, fourth place: Gabe Hoag, Grady Germain

Dynamic Planet, third place: Mason Grieb, Grady Germain

Experimental Design, fourth place: Ava Aupperle, Logan McShane, Addy Moses

Fossils, fourth place: Gabe Hoag, Mason Grieb

Game On (coding), sixth place: Lila Kelly, Logan McShane