A group of 15 Hewitt students were directed to a room on the corner of the maze-like third floor in Grover Cleveland High School, the sheer enormity of the Queens public school overwhelming our tight-knit familiarity. However, Hewitt ultimately proved undaunted, earning 29th place out of 46 teams at the much anticipated Science Olympiad.
It is no surprise that the specialized high schools Stuyvesant and Bronx High School of Science were every school’s biggest competition on that chilly Saturday of February 11, 2012. Hewitt science teacher and event advisor Ms. Caitlin Kilts recalls a specialized high school teacher she met at a preparation meeting with all the participating schools.
“An advisor for the Rocks and Minerals event said that he had already bought the rock samples and had begun giving his students timed tests, two months in advance.”
Indeed, sufficient preparation is necessary for examination based events such as Anatomy and Physiology to the more innovative Robotic Arm.
“I felt quite prepared for Anatomy and Physiology,” wrote co-leader Siv Nilsson ’12 in an e-mail interview. “However, due to the absence of a student, I had to step in for many of her events. It was quite challenging since [environmental science] was something I’ve never studied before.” Siv was also disappointed that Hewitt only achieved 29th place, as we usually place in the top 20.
Co-leader Rachel Glick ’12 offered some justification. “The number of schools that participate in the competition keeps
growing. Overall, I think our team was well prepared.” Some new schools included arts-focused LaGuardia High School and Brooklyn Latin School, a specialized high school known for its concentration on the humanities. Also, bigger schools were allowed to bring up to two more teams.
This year, the team welcomed an influx of novice Science Olympians. One such newcomer was Hannah Ricotta ’15, who scored 13th place out of 46 for the Gravity Vehicle event, which required her to build a ramp which propelled a ball toward a fixed distance using only the force of gravity.
“Mr. Weaver was really helpful. I also think my middle school Physics class helped a lot, since that’s what the Gravity Vehicle was mostly based on,” Hannah stated.
Faculty advising is an integral part of the Science Olympiad preparation. According to Rachel, “It was definitely helpful to have a faculty member advise us about how to prepare for each event. Some pairs met more often with their faculty advisor depending on their event.”
Adequate background knowledge about our events can also influence our performance. Though students generally felt well-prepared, Hewitt does not nearly offer as many Advanced Placement courses in the math and sciences as the specialized high schools. For example, Stuyvesant offers both AP Physics B and C; Bronx Science offers both Calculus AB and BC along with advanced courses in computer science. Higher level courses could directly add to a more sophisticated understanding and application of the events – for example, Stuyvesant scored first place in eight events and Bronx Science scored first place in one.
However, in fairness, a student does need to take an AP course in a science or math to successfully complete a Science Olympiad event, as seen in Hannah’s stellar performance. In addition, Hewitt students have the opportunity to build upon their mandatory freshmen Robotics class by taking Advanced Robotics. Anna Mendelson ’13 and Victoria Zoha ’14 did just that for the Robotic Arm event, in which they placed 16th out of 46.
Anna noted, “It was a coincidence that we happened to be doing a robot arm project right around the time of the competition, so we built off of the one we were already working on in class.” Anna highlighted the tremendous helpfulness of Mr. Erik Nauman, who teaches both 9th grade Robotics and Advanced Robotics.
Siv and Rachel encouraged members to sign up for events pertaining to their current science classes, maximizing potential victories with relevance and strengths.
“In past years, we have beaten all-girls schools such as Brearley and Chapin,” stated Siv. “This year, we were the only participating all-girls school.” Among other participating private schools like Dalton and Collegiate, we beat two out of three Horace Mann teams in overall placement.
Janae Barrett ’13 appreciated the emphasis that Science Olympiad places on science education. “I want to redo my
events for next year, so I can improve on and gain a better understanding of Anatomy and Physiology and Forensics.” Also a newcomer, she placed 24th in Anatomy and Physiology and 29rd in Forensics. A quote from Janae’s on-site interview was included in an NY1 article about the competition.
At Hewitt, strategy and genuine interest in the events are the keys to preparation and success. Ultimately, as Mr. Weaver phrased it in a congratulatory e-mail, “I want to emphasize that our most important goal for Science Olympiad is that you learn some science.”