By Liddell Shannon, FBRA Girls Science Teacher
Over the years, FBRA Girls Program has had several Science Olympiad Teams. The most recent one before this year was in 2022/23 with an after-school program that I led with the help of FBRA board member Laura Bowers.
This year, we offered Science Olympiad as a 7th/8th Grade Elective class second trimester. 15 students met during the school day on Fridays to prepare for the Science Olympiad Tournament that happened Saturday, February 21st at Asheville Middle School. This was the Saturday during the middle of February break. We knew that not everyone would be able to come to the tournament on that Saturday. But 8 of the 15 students in the elective, plus alumn Sallie Kaltreider competed with the team on that Saturday.
Science Olympiad is a nationwide STEM program for students interested in science enrichment activities and competition. Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events. Events include topics of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering, and technology. Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on team-work to accomplish a goal.
During the Friday elective class, the 7th and 8th Graders chose their events and practiced to prepare for the Competition. Our students participated in 13 different events.
Our Codebusters Team of Pearl, Wylie, and Clover won the 3rd place bronze medal for that event. Our Meteorology Team of June and Sylvia won the 3rd place bronze medal for that event. Our Dynamic Planet Team of Pearl and Lilli also won the 3rd place bronze medal for that event.
I am especially proud of the team for showing up to participate on a Saturday during the middle of a break! They were so shiny and had a lot of fun while eating cake (made by student, Pearl).
I also want to give shout-outs to some FBRA Alumns! Sydney Ledford (Senior at TC Roberson) was our FBRA Team’s event volunteer. Sydney recruited her classmate, Bianca Neaga to also be a FBRA Team volunteer. While we were at the tournament we say Peyton Case (Senior at Asheville High) who was also an event volunteer and Sofia Nuñez (Senior at Nesbitt) who was a competitor. Sofia’s School Team (Nesbitt Discovery Academy) won the High School Division of the Tournament. All 3 of those Seniors participated in Science Olympiad while they were students at FBRA.
