Science Olympiad
by Tarisha Hasan
What is the Science Olympiad?
Science Olympiad is the premier team STEM competition in the nation, providing standards-based challenges to 6,000 teams at 425 tournaments in all 50 states. 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 focus on 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.
The competition is divided into several events, which vary every year. It is designed to test science knowledge in various ways, including (but not limited to) scientific design, tests, and build events. Certain events are more time-consuming and intensive than others: for example, Rollercoaster, where you build a stylized ramp for a ball to roll down for a target time, and Flight, in which teams build a rubber-band powered airplane vs. an event like Fast Facts, which is more a test-based “core knowledge” event. The more events your team participates in and the more events you finish in the top three places, the higher your team’s ranking.
Regional competitions typically involve schools from a specific region, usually within the same state. Our State competition takes students from schools all over California, and Nationals will likely involve teams from every single state in the United States. The experience is highly rewarding, and it can be a valuable addition on applications one may have for colleges, internships, and future jobs. With that in mind, I want to provide a thorough review of this year’s competition so that students can get a better idea of what the competition entails. Before we get started, I would like to thank and congratulate all participants in this year’s Science Olympiad competition from both Division B (middle school) and Division C (high school).
What happened on this year’s trip?
The competition this year took place at Antelope Valley College, which is about an hour northeast from the Science Academy/EVHS campus. Both Divisions B and C camped outside of Yoshida Hall to gather, prep, and give each other support. Most events (except for Green Generation B/C, Dynamic Planet B/C, Roller Coaster B, It’s About Time C, Flight B/C, Storm the Castle B, Trajectory C, Wifi Lab C, and Sounds of Music B) took place in either Uhazy Hall (UH) or Sage Hall (SH). It was quite a large campus, so all participants were provided with maps in order to navigate the competition properly. Very few events this year seemed to be available to both the middle and high school divisions, with most events being exclusive to one division or another.
Although Antelope Valley College might not be that well known to students, it was nevertheless a huge campus, making it very easy to get lost, so we found that it’s always important to leave yourself plenty of time to get to your events. The college buildings contained many fascinating things, such as an anthropology exhibit, professional lecture halls, and well-equipped chemistry labs, so between events, we definitely did some sightseeing.
Image #1: Map of the Antelope Valley Campus
Personal experience
Because of the events I selected, my first event wasn’t until the afternoon at 1:20 pm. Luckily, the vending machines worked fine, and the snacks that we brought on the trip were also decent, which gave me an excuse to try matcha-flavored Choco Pies for the first time.
One of my first events was the Write It, Do It event, which is both fun and a bit nerve-wracking. Teammates are placed in separate rooms; one teammate writes down instructions for building an unnamed and unpictured item, and the other has to correctly build it. Although I will admit I’m not the best architect in the world, I still think I did a pretty decent job building the compound object from my teammate’s instructions. The materials were pretty fun to fidget with and link together, and the wooden blocks made almost perfect Jenga pieces. Even then, when the time came to build the actual object, it reminded me of trying to follow a recipe shoved into Google Translate multiple times before being translated back into English.
Fast Facts, a core knowledge test event, which was overall a pretty successful event for us, had some name categories that were challenging, including parts of the brain and anatomy. Unfortunately, I completely bombed the Biotechnology category, so those are areas I’ll want to study more in the future.
Image #2: Sage Hall, where I did the Write It, Do It event.
Why should you participate in Science Olympiad?
Despite the rigor that the competition has, it is well worth the effort. Not only is it fun, but participation in the event, even if you don’t place at the top or even the top three, will look excellent on a college application. These days, colleges look for students who are well rounded and capable of a high level of endurance in times of difficulty. Participants in the competition have the potential to win huge prizes: not just trophies, medals and plaques, but also scholarships, which can make going to college a lot more economically feasible. This, in turn, can allow you to pursue the career you want, especially if it’s a STEM career. If you’re interested, you should talk to Mr. Nuno and join his Per. 7 Science Olympiad elective next year.
Image #3: Yoshida Hall. Most of us camped out near the entrance of this place, more precisely, near the tree shown at the left of the hall
Science Olympiad Trivia
- The first recorded Science Olympiad competition was held on Saturday, November 23, 1974 in Laurinburg, North Carolina at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College.
- The list of events changes every year, but the core categories remain the same: Core Knowledge, Build, and Hands-On. Hybrid events can be a combination of any of these categories.
- And finally, a word of advice:
- If this is your first Science Olympiad competition, I would highly recommend selecting an event that is Core Knowledge only; these events only require research in order to completely understand the requirements.
- If you are good at building, you may want to take on Build events. They are rewarding to design and often come in the form of models of practical everyday objects. However, these events can be time-consuming, so take them as early as possible.
Homecoming Game
by Elodia Honigstein
Pre-Game
The homecoming game is a chance for a school to unify, rally, and boost school spirit while rooting for a common goal in a fun game. Before East Valley and Science Academy’s homecoming game on September 23rd against Esteban Torres High School, many preparations were made to make this game an event to remember. Cars were decorated and cheers were practiced to ensure that the energy was heightened for the game.
During an interview with the cheerleading coach, Jennifer Secaida, she relayed that the cheerleaders had been nervous in the time before the game; however, they were plenty excited by starting time. They had extra practices due to many of the previous girls graduating last year, so that they would be well prepared for exhibiting maximum school spirit. The cheerleaders were a constant boost of Falcon spirit, shouting and interacting with the audience throughout the game and encouraging all to let loose and enjoy themselves.
The East Valley football coach, Luis Zuniga, reported before the game that two of the team’s best players had been injured, requiring many adjustments to be made to their starting line-up. Players were put in unfamiliar positions, and so it was a time of experimentation. He said that the team was very excited about the game and were hopeful of a win.
During the Game
East Valley kicked off to start the game, giving it to Torres for the first snap. Within two minutes, the Torres managed to get a touchdown, gaining 8 points for their team. A couple of plays later, East Valley player #22 was injured and had to be taken out of the game via a wheelchair. The Falcons proceeded to advance quickly and efficiently, winning a touchdown of 6 points; however, soon another player #11 got injured.
After another touchdown by Torres in the second quarter for 6 points, the Falcons manage to rebound with a score of their own, bringing the score to 14-20, with the Torres ahead at the half.
During the halftime parade, various cars drove around the field filled with students who were all inspired by their school and the associated sports. One car was dedicated to the East Valley homecoming candidates, while another featured the Science Academy candidates. There was a car dedicated to the women’s soccer team, along with other clubs and teams here at our school.
In the third quarter, the Torres scored a touchdown, bringing the score to 14-28, with the Falcons losing yet another player, #15. The air was thick with hope and anticipation, and everyone was waiting to see if the Falcons could come back from this deficit. The Torres get another touchdown, but the Falcons turned right around and scored one of their own, making the score 20-34, Torres.
Finally, in the 4th quarter, there was one more injury, to player #1. The game came to an end with a pivotal fumble made by the Falcons, leading to the Torres picking it up and running off with it, gaining another touchdown for the scoreboard. The final score ended up being 20-42, with Torres winning. If the Falcons had not had that fatal fumble, there would have only been a touchdown between the two teams, and the Falcons would have had a chance to come back, just like they did in the first half. However, the Falcons will have other chances to beat the Torres.
Post Game
During a post-game interview with the East Valley head football coach, Luis Zuniga, he stressed that the Falcons’ main concern moving forward is tackling and keeping healthy. It’s hard when guys get injured, he told his team, and they come up short, but they played with heart and that’s what matters. In the first half, the coach reports that the team felt good, as they were only a touchdown away; however, it was hard for the team when they lost their best players in the second half. He knows they will play the Torres again, and he’s confident that the Falcons will win next time.
Science Bowl Success
by Daniel Svediani
This February, our very own Middle School Science Bowl Team successfully qualified for the National Science Bowl competition in Washington, D.C. by winning the Southern California regional Science Bowl competition! We are overjoyed by our students’ performance and would like to congratulate each and every team member. Our star five-person team consists of Naira Badalyan (7th grade), Saket Pamidipathri (8th grade), Ryan Lee (8th grade), Sean Yeh (8th grade), and Eric Chung (6th grade), and we would like to individually congratulate each and every one of them for their incredible performance as well as their amazing co-coaches, Ms. Musial and Jaden Penhaskashi. This has been a dream come true and the Science Bowl Club has been building up to this moment since we moved to our new North Hollywood location. In 2019, our middle school team placed in the top five; in 2020, our middle school team placed third; in 2021, our middle school team placed second; and this year we finally placed first!
So, in honor of all of our past and current Science Bowl team members, we wanted to enlighten everyone with the history of the Science Academy Science Bowl team by interviewing the team’s founder, Jaden Penhasakshi:
“In 2016, I was lucky enough to be able to create our middle school’s first Science Bowl team thanks to the help of previous coach and current Science Academy teacher, Mr. Knauss. At the time, Science Bowl was uncharted territory, but we were ready to accept any challenges in an effort to increase our knowledge and understanding of scientific studies. We formed a team of five people, four of whom attend Science Academy to this day, and we began our journey.
“We spent our first few years learning from our mistakes and gaining experience, but we only truly began to flourish during our third year of competition, where we placed second place in the Southern California regionals with the help of one of our school’s science teachers, Ms. DiMonaco. The next year we placed third and the following year, second again. It was a grueling process, but coming so close to advancing and qualifying for Nationals constantly pushed us to work harder and harder year after year.
“During the same time, our oldest middle school competitors advanced to the high school tournament, a difficult transition, because the majority of teams at the competition were composed of seniors, while our school only had freshmen. Similar to our middle school experience, we never gave up working harder and harder each year, seeing the fruits of our labor ripen as we slowly climbed in ranking.
“And that leads us to where we are today. Our current coach Ms. Musial has hosted our club for the past year and her help as well as all of our previous coaches has undoubtedly brought us the victory that we are proud to have today. We currently have four teams, two middle school teams and two high school teams, and hope they achieve similar success within the coming years. So let’s cross our fingers for all of our Science Bowl teams and wish them luck!”
Feel free to talk to Ms. Musial or any of the Science Academy Science Bowl members if you are interested in joining the team and check out our website to find out more about Science Bowl: https://stemsciencebowl.weebly.com/
Our first Science Bowl team.
Our current Science Bowl team.
From left to right: Jaden (student coach), Naira Badalyan,
Saket Pamidipathri, Ryan Lee, Sean Yeh, Eric Chung
Science Academy High School Debate Team Closes Out a Successful 1st Year
by Sarah Lane & Scott Oberholtzer
The Science Academy High School speech and debate team has just closed out a very successful first year of competition. The team as a whole prospered in every competition, consistently placing at or near the top, with one student making it all the way to the state competition.
The team engaged in its first novice competition on Halloween, with Sarah Lane, Leila Muney, and Mary Sarukhanyan all placing within the Top 5 for Spontaneous Argumentation, as well as Gregory Kislik placing in 5th for Original Oratorical Speaking. The team was congratulated by the League President, Bobby Lebeda, for their high placements in their first competition.
The second speech competition for the year, and the first advanced speech competition for the team, came on November 19, 2020. Sarah Lane, Nicholas Carone, and Cristiana Phelan all placed within the top 10 in Spontaneous Argumentation. In addition to this, Sarah Lane also placed fourth in Impromptu Speaking.
On January 16, 2021, the team conquered its first-ever debate competition. Multiple students competed in a myriad of team and individual events. Gregory Kislik competed in the Lincoln Douglas debate and earned a superior award, while Leila Muney and Cristiana Phelan competed in the Public Forum debate, also earning a superior award. Parliamentary debate had the most entries from the team, with two teams: Rhonen Harris and Sarah Lane, as well as Nicholas Carone and Leila Muney. Both Parliamentary entries earned superior awards at the open debate competition.
In the spring open speech competition on February 20, 2021, the team had an impressive showing in the Spar and Impromptu events yet again, with Leila Muney, Rhonen Harris, and Xander Ashtrafi all placing within the top 10. Rhonen Harris also placed 6th in the impromptu speaking event at the competition.
The team then entered into the debate state qualifiers, on February 27th. At these qualifiers, Mary Sarukhanyan and Leila Muney made it all the way to the finals in Public Forum debate. The team eventually placed 7th in the event.
The next state qualifying event was for speech on March 19th, 2021. Many competitors from the team went to compete against some of the best speakers in the state, with two students from the Science Academy Team placing in finals. Michelle Dupont placed 7th, just short of qualifying for states in the program Oral Interpretation event, while Sarah Lane placed 6th and qualified for the state competition in Impromptu Speaking.
The CA state competition took place over multiple days, from April 19th to the 25th. Sarah Lane ended up competing over three separate days in Impromptu speaking, eventually making it to the semi-finals for the event. Sarah placed 13th overall out of 50+ state competitors.
Team coach Mr. Brooker, club President Mary Sarukhanyan, and the entire team are extremely proud of their stellar performance this pioneering season. With Mary stating, “I’m astonished at how far our team has come, especially since it was all done through a screen. Mr. Brooker and our team members worked really hard to get here”. Both Mr. Brooker and the team hope to return next year even more successful than the last, sending more competitors to state in both Speech and Debate events.
The team has also expressed a desire for new members, as stated by Mr. Brooker. The team is open to all high schoolers, including current 8th graders who will be starting 9th grade with the Science Academy next year. If you’re interested, please reach out to Mr. Brooker via Schoology message. Hope you will consider joining us!
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Club Spotlight: STEM Clubs
STEM Clubs at the Science Academy STEM Magnet
by Milan R. and Muaz R.
At Science Academy, we have a wide range of clubs, all focusing on a variety of subjects, skills, and potential occupations. In this article, we take a look at three of our STEM-focused clubs: StellarXplorers, the Applied STEAM Club, and Math Counts. Stellar Xplorers and Math Counts are sponsored by our wonderful assistant principal, Mr. Rosenthal, while the Applied STEAM Club is sponsored by Mr. Bradfield and led by fellow students Zygmunt R, Nikita A, and Oliver P. All of these clubs feature the use of many different skills in science, technology, engineering, math, and more.
Stellar Xplorers
Stellar Xplorers is a high school space-based competition, founded by the National Air Force Association (AFA), that encourages students to use their skills in mathematics, science, and engineering in order to solve real-life problems. Students must grapple through many different computer-generated scenarios, while keeping in mind all the variables that could affect their aircraft, such as launch speed and orbital velocity. Working and familiarizing themselves with these concepts allows pupils to gain a greater advantage when applying these skills to real-life jobs in major organizations and companies such as NASA, JPL, and SpaceX.
In order to get a more personal overview of what it’s like participating in the club, we interviewed Zachary M. (8th) on his experiences.
“I first started Stellar Xplorers in the sixth grade. It’s been a great experience so far — Stellar Xplorers has taught me about the different elements of satellite design, weighing the cost-effectiveness of different crucial satellite subsystems, the six classical orbital parameters, and evaluating the data transfer from satellites to satellites and stations, and much more. I would recommend anyone who likes space and is willing to join a team to become a Stellar Xplorer. A lot of Stellar Xplorers is not only about participating in the competitions but also having a good time with your friends. It’s one of the most fun things I’ve done this year and it always gives me something to look forward to. Also, scholarships are given to the top three teams, so that gives an incentive as well. Although you probably couldn’t use the material you learn directly after you participate in a competition when you get older, these competitions can give you some of the necessary knowledge and experience required to be able to work at companies like JPL, NASA, or SpaceX. In my opinion, there is absolutely no prior experience necessary to join this club. I came in knowing nothing about any of the topics I listed prior, but after participating in the competitions and learning about satellites and rockets through this club, I would now consider myself knowledgeable on all of them.”
StellarXplorers explores a wide variety of different topics in STEM fields and allows students to exercise skills that they can apply to real-world careers. If you would like to develop these skills for a present and future occupation, or simply have an interest in what lies beyond the great skies, consider joining Stellar Xplorers! You can do so by emailing Mr. Rosenthal about your interest in the club.
Math Counts
Are you deeply interesting and curious about the mysteries of mathematics and the beauty it encompasses? Or are you simply looking for a way to stretch your brain and increase your critical thinking skills? Math Counts features a solution to both of these problems! Hosted by Mr. Rosenthal, the club grants a way for students to converse and solve math problems with one another as well as increase their logical and critical thinking skills at the same time. Math Counts tackles problems in many different fields of mathematics, including algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics.
In order to get a more personal overview of what it’s truly like in the club, we interviewed two club members:
Saket P. (8th): “I first started Math Counts in 6th grade when it was a small group of 6, and we just did math problems and math competitions. We entered competitions like the AMC 8, 10, 12, the Math Olympiad, and the Math Counts and Purple Comet. I would recommend anyone who likes competitive math to come to join, or if you like fun math problems. Most of the stuff you learn can help you gain an advantage in the competition and can help us beat rival schools. I don’t believe there is a need for prior knowledge, you just need to be interested in math. But if you want a list of subjects to prepare for the competition, there are algebra, geometry, number theory, and probability. Math Counts is an amazing club for anyone interested in math. I am excited to see how this club ends up in the years to come.”
Ryan L. (7th): “I first started Math Club just when it was announced by Mr. Rosenthal. The club is a great way to practice skills that you have already learned as well as develop new ones. It’s a great opportunity to have fun with math, and I was able to incorporate the math questions I have answered there with various problems on the AMC and Math Counts. I believe that some prior knowledge is needed, at least algebra. The club is there to learn and practice math. The people who already know the math are able to practice the problems, and more importantly explain how to do the problem to the other students, allowing the other students to learn and allowing all the students to gain more experience in articulating the process and solution.”
Math Counts provides an environment for students to engage in different mathematical challenges and problems with one another in order to expand upon their logical and critical thinking skills. If these activities sound enjoyable to you, consider emailing Mr. Rosenthal about your interest in the club!
Applied STEAM
Are you interested in MakerSpace, electronics and/or engineering? If so, you should know the Applied STEAM Club has been devoted to a combination of these topics since they formed in January 2021.
The Applied STEAM Club aspires to be a “community of STEM enthusiasts to showcase cool projects and ideas.” Together, members of the club collaborate on projects and work on them to perfection. Other than collaborating, students “communicate with each other in the STEAM club whether it be through Zoom or Discord”. Their Zoom meetings are every Thursday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM.
One of their major goals is to “acquire more members in order to make bigger projects and have better collaborations”. The club representatives are also hopeful the club can meet in person when school returns to normal, and therefore make collaborating easier.
The Applied STEAM Club is sponsored by Mr. Bradfield with Zyg R, Oliver P, and Nikita A as their representatives. To enter the club, students can use the access code from the S.A. Student Body Outreach to join their Schoology group, and they can attend their meetings.
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Debate Team Starts Off Strong
By Emily Corona
On October 31st, seven members of the Science Academy Debate Club took on their first Tri-County Forensics League (TCFL) Novice Speech Tournament with great success. The Debate Club consists of the high school students at the Science Academy, sponsored by Mr. Brooker, who have had prior experience with debate in their English classes. Now, these students have taken the initiative, using their skills developed from intramural debate, and dove into the competitive sphere against other school teams. The students participating hailed from a myriad of schools across the district, and were assigned number scores to determine their overall placements. The tournament itself, held over Zoom, consisted of thirteen different categories, two of which the team participated in on Saturday morning.
The team did incredibly well, with three participants from the Science Academy ranking in the top five in Spontaneous Argumentation. The argumentation was impromptu, and the students had no prior knowledge of the topics given. In this form of debate, participants are given one minute to prepare after the topic is presented, and after must argue their given stance. Some of the featured topics given included TikTok and its potential threat to national security, teachers sharing political views in classrooms, and sports teams and political slogans, according to Sarah Lane. Based on their argumentation and overall performance in comparison to other students in their breakout room, participants were awarded points. Sarah, an 11th grader and Debate Club historian, proudly placed first in the Spontaneous Argumentation event, netting over 289 total points. Leila Muney, tenth grader and Debate Club vice president, placed second and earned over 282 points for her performance. Mary Sarukhanyan, a 10th grader and current president of Speech and Debate Club, placed a close fourth in the event, as well, gaining 280 points.
One of the team members also placed in the top three in the Original Oratory event. Gregory Kislik, an 11th grader, placed third for his speech about misinformation, scoring an impressive 272 points. Greg was kind enough to provide portions of his oratory, which was to be prewritten and prerecorded for judging at the tournament. Greg’s speech, “An Untrue Truth”, talks about the need to be correct and how reliable sources can be subject to bias, as well as how misinformation has even permeated the scientific community:
“Researcher bias and error is a factor which can mislead the public because of the researcher’s perceived authority over a certain subject. Errors such as publication bias, in which publishing is based on outcome, reporting bias, which is the reporting of only positive outcomes (and neglecting negative ones), as well as spin (how the data is framed) are commonplace throughout research.”
Greg’s speech is an insightful look into the realm of misinformation, and how it affects everyone down to the sources thought to be unquestionably credible. The witty humor, coupled with the informational sources, provide an interesting take on something we often pay no mind to in the scientific community. It’s easy to see why he received such a high placement.
Overall, the team performed exceptionally well for their first official Speech and Debate tournament. Taking the majority of the top five of spontaneous argumentation, and securing a spot in the top three of the original oratory, club president and representative Mary Sarukhanyan is proud of her team. Mary commented on the team’s performance and experience going into their first tournament with the TCFL, saying:
“Everyone on the team was really nervous going into it, being our first time and over Zoom too. But we made a splash with our standings and even received comments from the co-president of our circuit. The team is thrilled with what we achieved and we’re preparing to kill it at our next event.”
It’s safe to say the Science Academy community is incredibly proud of how the team did in their tournament, and excitedly awaits the next one!
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