This year Lake Elkhorn began to compete in the Science Olympiad.  In their first year they were able to qualify to be eligible to participate in the Maryland State competition.  The LEMS Science Olympiad Team participated in the Maryland Regional tournament at the University of Maryland in College Park.  LEMS, was one of three middle schools in Howard County to have a team competing in this event.  Lake Elkhorn was able to finish in the top nine schools in the small school division, which qualified them for the state tournament.  We are very excited to continue next year and be able to do even better as we have learned a lot about this completion and what is required to compete. 

As you can see below, this is a very intense competition and we are very proud of our students who were on the team this year.  The students Marina, Kamran, Krish, Lauren, Margaret, Caitlin, Hadia, Dominic, Jess, Stephanie, Kaleb, Zya, and Jurnie did an amazing job of representing our school.  The students will be demonstrating some of the engineering competitions at the Enrichment Fair on May 18th, starting at 6pm.

We would also like to thank the staff members who helped get the students ready for this competition.  Mrs. Benedetto, Ms. Bacon, Mr. Farmer, Ms. Waters, and Mr. Gatz were all instrumental in helping the students prepare for the event.  If anyone would like to help with the competition, please contact Mr. Bond at school. 

Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events, which are performed by a small group, usually with two team members. Each year, the selected subset of events is rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, astronomy, mechanical engineering and technology. Each team of 15 students will prepare throughout the school year to compete in Science Olympiad tournaments held on local, state and national levels. Unlike some science competitions, Science Olympiad requires that students DO science during the competition rather than just report about a science project.  By combining events from different disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages a wide cross-section of students to become involved. Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on, group participation.

Types of Events

Events in the Science Olympiad have been designed to recognize the wide variety of skills that students possess. While some events require knowledge of scientific facts and concepts, others rely on science processes, skills or applications. This ensures that everyone can participate, including students from technology classes or advanced science classes.

• Lab based events are those like Chemistry Lab, Forensics, or Can't Judge A Powder By Its Color, which require students to complete a lab activity during the competition. 
• Research based events are those events like Anatomy, Disease Detectives, and Fossils which encourage students to prepare research materials prior to the competition and use them in the event.
• Pre-built events are engineering competitions in which students build a device to accomplish a task or goal, and the device is tested onsite at the competition.

Team Spirit

Although some events in the Science Olympiad are based on individual achievement, all events involve teamwork, group planning, and cooperation. That is the real essence of the Science Olympiad. Our emphasis is on advanced learning in science through active, hands-on, group participation. Through the Olympiad, students, teachers, coaches, principals, business leaders, and parents work together as a team toward common goals.