Well done everyone! You made it to State and you made it through State! I’m sorry this is so long. Please take your time to read all the way through. (Code word protocol applies.)
First, I want to give some big shouts of thanks. To Mrs. Walko who helped us all navigate the campus she knows so well, organized our post tournament dinner out, and generally was helpful to everyone all around. To the rest of the parents without whom we couldn’t have done as well at this tournament. They took on the long-distance driving, demonstrated mad parking skills, and provided you all with overnight accommodation. That is definitely above and beyond the call. (Many school team parents simply put their students on a bus.) To the many dedicated volunteers serving all day at your events and behind the scenes among whom Mr. Walko and Mrs. Olivo had roles. They served on our behalf making the tournament possible and satisfied our team’s obligation. Please take a minute right now to go thank your parents for supporting your efforts in this competition. Second, do you know how many coaches, officials, Regional Directors, and even Event Supervisors commented warmly on Friday and Saturday about your success of getting to State in the first place? (I should have written them all down but I was soaking in the moments all day.) It is a wonderful thing to be known, welcomed, and esteemed but even more when it is your behavior and respect that has earned that honor. You have all carried yourselves with grace this entire season. You take your place in a long line of NVSO / LVSO alumni who have done the same to build up our reputation over more than a decade by making how we treat others our top priority. I am proud of you all for how you picked up this baton while forging your way with excellence in science into so many events. portcullis Well done indeed! Third, Team Finishing Rank: 12/25 Single A (36/50 Overall) Let me just put that in narrative form for you. Our team finished twelfth out of twenty-five Single A teams at State. We finished our season as the thirty-sixth ranked team out of the approximately one hundred thirty-three registered Division C teams in Illinois. You know there are a number of really strong Division C teams in Illinois but did you know we compete against them all the time? After the top two State finishing teams which we see at Invitationals (Stevenson and New Trier), the next five are either in our Region or from Naperville. Following them are 14 other suburban Chicago teams we also regularly see at Invitationals. It’s a very competitive field we are in. With a few exceptions, we beat most of the downstate teams and were two spots ahead of Rockford Auburn. We were directly ahead of AA ranked John Hersey High School, that team that tied in points for the lowest State bid at their Regional. Lane Tech College Prep, a very prestigious magnet school, finished 2 points (points, not ranks) ahead of us. 12/25 (36/50) while it may not sound very impressive, is in fact an accomplishment / milestone for us when you know the context. Fourth, Individual Finishing Ranks: This is impressive! Seriously, think about it. We earned seven medals at State!!!! There have been many years we didn’t earn seven medals at Regional. There were two Invitationals this year where we didn’t earn seven medals. Science Olympiad is about adding up individual efforts toward a team goal. Each event is important toward the team goal. Even those just out of medal range, the 6’s, 7’s, and 8’s, contribute positively to the team score and should be celebrated for earning those positions. In some cases these ranks can be separated from medal positions by as little as tenths or hundredths of a point. Check out the histograms at the of of this post to see how your efforts in your event compared to the whole pool. Here is the count of "Single A" medals. *2nd Place Mission Possible: Ray & Ben M. (2/17 Single A) (6/42 Overall) *2nd Place Protein Modelling: Avyi & John. (2/22 Single A) (8/47 Overall) *2nd Place Wright Stuff: Elijah & Ben M. (2/22 Single A) (12/47 Overall) *2nd Place Fermi Questions: Jeff & John. (2/24 Single A) (13/49 Overall) *4th Place WIDI: Elijah & Avyi. (4/25 Single A) (13/50 Overall) *5th Place Herpetology: Amber & Sarah. (5/24 Single A) (20/49 Overall) *5th Place Dynamic Planet: Avyi & Cody. (5/23 Single A) (22/48 Overall) ---and just out of medal range but still contributing positively to our team score--- 6th Place Circuit Lab: Ray & John. (6/23 Single A) (27/48 Overall) 7th Place Forensics: John & Amber. (7/24 Single A) (24/49 Overall) 8th Place Thermodynamics: Ben W. & Sarah. (8/23 Single A) (19/47 Overall) 8th Place A&P: Avyi & Sarah. (8/24 Single A) (24/49 Overall) 10th Place Mousetrap Vehicle: Jeff & Ray. (10/20 Single A) (30/43 Overall) 10th Place Water Quality: Elijah & Alissa. (10/21 Single A) (30/46 Overall) 12th Place Exp. Des.: Crystal, Ben M., & Alissa. (12/25 Single A) (35/50 Overall) 14th Place Disease Detectives: John & Sarah. (14/23 Single A) (37/48 Overall) 14th Place Fossils: Jeff & Amber. (14/24 Single A) (32/49 Overall) 14th Place Designer Genes: Sarah & Crystal. (14/25 Single A) (38/50 Overall) 15th Place Chem Lab: Jeff & Avyi. (15/22 Single A) (41/47 Overall) 18th Place Astronomy: Cody & Ben W. (18/24 Single A) (43/49 Overall) 19th Place Boomilever: Ben W. & Jeff. (19/23 Single A) (38/47 Overall) 19th Place Sounds of Music: Crystal & Cody. (19/21 Single A) (44/46 Overall) 20th Place Codebusters: Crystal, Elijah, & Ben M. (20/23 Single A) (46/48 Overall) 21st Place Geologic Mapping: Ben W. & Ben M. (21/23 Single A) (46/48 Overall) Third, next on the schedule for us is our end of the year party. Woo Hoo! It will be at the Hill home and there will be snacks (if you all bring some). I will also have certificates for each of you with all your accomplishments this year listed on them. (Those are the official record of the Regional and State academic awards you can include on your college applications.) Please watch your e-mail for more info about the party. We will need to change the previously posted date because I want ALL of you to attend. Finally, if I haven’t told you enough, I’m very proud of all that you accomplished this year. With dedicated work by a roster of strong students, you took the team further than it has ever gone before. Well done all indeed! Now let’s plan a party!!!! Blessings, Mrs. Guo
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Dear Team
Neuqua Valley High School Regional Tournament Results: Impressions & Random Thoughts. What a day! Has it soaked in yet? We’re going to State to compete in the big leagues! (Sorry this is long. Standard code word procedure applies.) Did you notice that after the overall results were announced and people were screaming in shock, one of the Neuqua coaches (MC of the awards ceremony) came over to hug me and congratulate all of you on our first ever trip to State in Div. C while his team, the Regional Champs, were lined up and waiting to take their “We’re going to State photo.” Let that soak in. Throughout the day I overheard about four conversations about our shirts. The funniest one was a mom and daughter walking toward me. By the time our paths crossed the mom was saying, “But what’s a Supreme shirt?” I could almost hear the daughter’s eyes rolling. About the Spirit Award. A few years ago, during our 10-year winning streak, ISO leadership sent a memo to coaches coaching them how to win the Spirit Award. Some suggestions were to dress up in theme costume, decorate homeroom doors or hallway, learn cheer type pep rally group chants, etc. Does this sound familiar? Lyons Township did all of that at this Regional and won the Spirit Award. They even got their coach to do a cheer stomp at the awards table after the votes were counted! With all their colorful effort this is still only the first time they or anybody else has won the Spirit Award at any of our Regionals in over 10 years. When that memo came out, I brought the topic to our students for a vote. Did we want to change our efforts and develop pep rally skills or did we want to continue our commitment to judge and leadership appreciation and use the opportunity to emphasize interpersonal skills? Those students said we’re not about gimmicks. We’re about genuine interactions and respect. So, we started giving out thank you cards with sweets inside as we greeted and thanked our judges. It worked for another three years until our streak ended this weekend. Personally, I am fine with the idea that ISO wants to make the Spirit Award about pep rally behavior as long as we still prioritize our commitment to behavior that exemplifies character and integrity. An evidence of this emphasis is a conversation I had with a new Mission judge at the end of the day. He complimented Ray and Ben on their character saying they listened well to advice and feedback. They were not argumentative and respected the rules being enforced while still appropriately advocating for their positions. When their device mis-fired in a way that Ray didn’t witness, he took the judge’s word for it. The judge said some students would have pushed back rudely at the loss of points. I know EACH of you are demonstrating this type of integrity in each of your events with your judges and everyone else. It is at the core of who we are whether or not we are publicly recognized for it. Why shouldn’t academic teams have the pep rally hoopla that sports teams do? It just may not be our priority. It wouldn’t be the first brick and mortar school tradition that is different in the homeschool community. Even if the stereotype is true that homeschool students do school in their pajamas, we can choose not to wear pajamas to SO tournaments. Team Results. There were 26 Div. C teams competing at our Regional. 13 were varsity and 13 JV. In case you haven’t heard, we ranked 5th among the varsity teams which qualifies us to compete at State. This could not have happened without all of you working together and pulling strong in your individual events. This is a major group win that could only come from a team effort. Below is a list of how all the teams scored with JV interspersed in gray according to where they ranked overall. Realistically there was no doubt the D204 high schools and Lyons Township (LT) would finish ahead of us. In our Region the battle is for 5th place. (Look at the point spread between the #4 team (Waubonsie) ahead of us and our #5 line on the bar graph.) In the past, we have been beaten by St. Charles East (SCE), Hinsdale South (HS), and Oswego East (OE). Oak Park River Forest (OPRF) is unknown but it is a large school with strong academics so I considered them a wild card. As your medals were being announced it was noticeable to me that SCE, HS, OE, and OPRF were not coming in ahead of us very often keeping us in the running for that #5 spot even though D204 and LT were. You may have noticed my nerves at that point. In the end we beat out the 6th place team by a slim 10 points. A nail biter for sure!
(Waubonsie JV2 landed here.)
Individual Results. The 12 of you collected medals in 14 events, the highest number of medals this team has ever earned at Regional. Last year we earned 9 medals and landed in 6th place (16 points behind OE) our then highest finish ever, but records were made to be broken. You can interpret the individual with this key: * Varsity Medal / Event: / names (Varsity Ranking) / (Overall ranking) *2nd Place Wright Stuff: Elijah & Ben M. (2/12 Varsity) (2/20 overall) *3rd Place A&P: Avyi & Sarah (3/12 Varsity) (3/23 overall) *3rd Place Thermodynamics: Ben W. & Sarah (3/13 Varsity) (4/22 overall) *4th Place Disease Detectives: Sarah & John (4/13 Varsity) (7/24 overall) *5th Place Fermi Questions: Jeff & John (5/13 Varsity) (7/23 overall) *5th Place Fossils: Jeff & Amber (5/13 Varsity) (9/22 overall) *5th Place Protein Modelling: Avyi & John (5/13 Varsity) (6/20 overall) *6th Place Boomilever: Ben W. & Jeff (6/13 Varsity) (9/22 overall) *6th Place Chem Lab: Jeff & Avyi (6/13 Varsity) (10/22 overall) *6th Place Dynamic Planet: Avyi & Cody (6/13 Varsity) (8/19 overall) *6th Place Forensics: John & Amber (6/13 Varsity) (8/23 overall) *6th Place Misison Possible: Ray & Ben M. (6/12 Varsity) (8/16 overall) *6th Place Mousetrap Vehicle: Jeff & Ray (6/13 Varsity) (8/18 overall) *6th Place WIDI: Elijah & Avyi (6/13 Varsity) (7/23 overall) 7th Place Designer Genes: Crystal & Sarah (7/13 Varsity) (12/25 overall) 7th Place Geologic Mapping: Ben W. & Ben M. (7/13 Varsity) (10/22 overall) 8th Place Experimental Design: Crystal, Alissa & Ben M. (8/12 Varsity) (14/22 overall) 9th Place Codebusters: Crystal, Elijah, and Ben M. (9/12 Varsity) (16/24 overall) 10th Place Herpetology: Amber & Sarah (10/12 Varsity) (18/22 overall) 10th Place Sounds of Music: Crystal & Cody (10/12 Varsity) (18/20 overall) 10th Place Water Quality: Elijah & Ray (10/13 Varsity) (16/21 overall) 12th Place Circuit Lab: Ray & John (12/13 Varsity) (18/21 overall) 13th Place Astronomy: Cody & Ben W. (13/13 Varsity) (21/21 overall) What’s Next? Thanks to the 12 of you our season is NOT over yet. We have one more tournament to prepare for. When we go to State, we will be competing among other Single A Regionally qualifying teams from all across the state. They should be less of a force than what we saw in D204, LT, the other powerhouse teams we competed against at Lake Central and the Double AA teams at Huntley. I would expect a similar medal count to how we usually do at Regional but it is still State. We need to prepare. Updated Team Calendar. Was e-mailed out yesterday. Please update your family calendars. SciOly Rules Clarifications and F.A.Q.’s. If you haven’t yet, it is absolutely time now to familiarize yourself with the SOinc.org rules clarifications page. https://www.soinc.org/events/rules-clarifications State Level Rules Specifications. Are highlighted on most rules sheets. You must make sure you are operating with State level parameters or you will not be prepared to earn those points. Build events need to check the specs. Academic events need to check the scope of your contents. Don’t miss this. If you need fresh copy of the rules for your events you can download it from our groups.io site here. https://groups.io/g/NaperValleyScienceOlympiadTeam/files/2019%20Events%20Resources Homework. Plan out your work for the remaining 5 weeks. How well you do at State is completely up to you. Some very impressive “State Academic Awards” are waiting there for you to take. But it’s up to you to stretch yourself enough to grab it. Proposita. It still feels weird that for the first time in 7 years I am not writing a final wrap up note because we’re going to State! I’m ok with this change. I hope you are too. It’s 5 weeks away. Do what you need to do. If you need rest, take it now. If you’re rarein’ to go, gidyup! Either way, pace yourselves. Don’t burn out or get frustrated. Make your learning / event development engaging and fun! This is an amazing opportunity. Let’s make the most of it. Blessings, Mrs. Guo Dear Team,
I’m sorry this is long. I am just so proud of all of you and want to get you all the details you’re waiting for. Take some time to sit down and read this like a story. As before, one free ticket will be awarded to whoever e-mails me off list at [email protected] with the secret hidden code word. What a day we had at Regional!!! Students, go right now and thank your parents! I mean it. Did you know they took on larger volunteer roles than usual this time? Mrs. Rinker and the Edmons ran the homeroom like professional coaches on their own. The parents judging WIDI; Mrs. Walko, Mrs. Mathew, Mrs. Hillebrand, the Ildefonsos, and Mrs. Murdock ran four sessions instead of two with twice as many teams to grade. Mrs. Walko even came to my house twice to help design and prepare the WIDI device. I thank them. You should thank them too. Spirit Award: From the inception of this team as a Learning Vine enrichment class to date under the Naper Valley Homeschool SO name, we have earned the Spirit Award at Regional every time we compete. That is a streak you can be proud of! Coaches and Event Supervisors make the effort to fill out a complicated ballot to vote for you but they also seek me out personally to compliment your behavior, character, personalities, and abilities! You and your parents should be proud of this recognition of who you are as individuals and how you conduct yourselves as a group in this environment. (By the way, I don’t know for sure but I think the vote wasn’t close. Again this year, they told me it wouldn’t matter if I voted when I couldn’t find my ballot. I’ve missed out on voting so many times I really wanted to so they let me write in my vote.) Team Rank: I was right. It was mathematically possible for us to qualify for State this year. However, we landed 16 points behind in a very respectable 6th place. I am pretty sure this is the highest finishing rank our team has ever reached. Considering that the school that passed us has an enrollment of around 2,500 students, a budget, two professional science teacher coaches, and two middle school feeder teams, I’d say we held our own. (By the way, this is the first time that team has ever finished higher than us.) I went up to their coaches after the ceremony, shook their hands, and offered our congratulations. They were so moved by winning their first trip to State those two coaches were understandably in tears. We can be happy for them…and still try to beat them next year. Individual Medals: 9 of our 11 core students medaled in 9 different events. 1 of our 2 fill-in students medaled after a week of serious study / preparation! Some events we weren’t expecting brought in the bling and some we were expecting didn’t. It just goes to show that it’s hard to know how things will turn out in life. Best practice is too keep practicing. Here are the individual results with some lessons learned from them. *2nd Place = Hovercraft, Ray & Crystal. If you’ve been following the evolution of this build you would know there has been more downward draft to the spirits of the engineers than from their vehicle. Don’t be afraid to make radical change in engineering if what you have isn’t working. (The only Hovercraft that was more accurate than ours was competed by UofC Lab.) *2nd Place = Mousetrap Vehicle, Jeff & Tobias. This vehicle went through various stages of development too. They put tires on their wheels and learned that it is necessary to work through, not ignore, environmental conditions (like unseen dust) in order to succeed. (The only Mousetrap Vehicle that was faster than ours was competed by Neuqua Valley.) *3rd Place = Towers, Crystal & Anaiah. It takes dedicated scientists to make a project they know will be destroyed again and again. Even so, some premature carnage can be avoided, if care and precision are employed in construction. (The only two Towers that carried more mass than ours were competed by Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley.) *4th Place = Herpetology, Ray & Nekijalyn. This one is an example of good use of a resource book + background biology knowledge + a childhood playing with pond critters + logic and good handwriting. Throw in a bit of trivia learned on a recent dissection lab experience at the Shedd Aquarium (shout out to MOMR) and the anatomy of an SO event is complete. Trust yourself using what you know, and the resources that you have, to figure out what is being asked of you. (The only Herpetology teams that placed higher than ours were from Neuqua Valley, UofC Lab, and Waubonsie Valley.) *4th Place = Optics, Sam & Jeff. I think this event was dreamed up by someone my age use who made spy periscopes out of mirrors and paper towel tubes as a child. Never doubt a Walko when Geometry and lasers are on the line. (The only Optics teams that were more accurate than ours were Neuqua Valley, UofC Lab, and Waubonsie Valley.) *5th Place = Chem Lab, Sam & Nekijalyn. (The highest Regional finishing rank our team has earned to date in this marquis event.) This one is all about practice, memory knowledge, and computation skills. Keeping a neat work station is one way to avoid being disqualified. -or the equally important- Always bring the necessary safety equipment. *5th Place = Dynamic Planet, Avyi & Jeff. We asked for help and Avyi raised her hand. Then she took a week to study up and bring in a medal. From this we learned two lessons. 1. Sometimes good things happen when we ask for help. 2. A little but of serious effort can have a very good result. (Here’s hoping Avyi is back with us next year for the whole season, not just the last week.) *6th Place = Fermi Questions, Jeff & John. Does anybody know how many acorns can fit in a 1 liter bottle? Or how many trees you would need to harvest to make a new book for everyone on earth each day for a year? (I don’t either.) Knowing how to calculate things like that can be a very useful skill. *6th Place = Game On, Sam & Crystal. Do your parents ever tell you to get off your games and get back to work? What if gaming was your work? I don’t mean playing games, designing them. Some kinds of games are used in education, therapy, workplace training / simulation, and of course entertainment. Don’t discount something you may think it is meaningless. It could have other important applications. ======= Before I go on, let me just restate that we earned 9 medals, in competition with 13 top notch schools, while not being ranked as A or AA. Since there can sometimes be as little as .001 between individual finishing ranks, these 7th and 8th place finishers are very strong showings as well. They also contributed positively toward our team finish and are to be celebrated. Now, back to the scores… ======= 7th Place = Experimental Design, Crystal & Alissa & Anaiah. Bounty may be the quicker picker upper but these three can figure out exactly how to determine that. Scientific principles and practices are marketable skills in industry. 7th Place = Remote Sensing, Cody & Jeff. Cody took on this event about reading and interpreting satellite weather image data around a month ago when he learned that it still needed a dedicated student. This is a very strong showing for such a late start. Don’t overlook an opportunity that may appear out of reach. It might be more doable than you think. 7th Place = Thermodynamics, Tobias & Sam. Tobias took on this event about two months ago when he learned that it still needed a dedicated student. When you courageously take on a project, follow the steps from beginning to end, then have it evaluated by experts, that is something to be proud of. When it does well in a field of others, that is to be celebrated. 8th Place = Disease Detectives, Nekijalyn & Alissa. All season long our DD team has been bringing home the bling in this marquis event. The other teams simply outpaced us this time out. That can happen sometimes. Always compete with poise and win or lose with grace. 8th Place = Microbe Mission, Alissa & Nekijalyn. Biology. Cells. Germs. Sometimes the little things in life can add up to something big. 8th Place = Mission Possible, Sam & Ray. SO completely redesigned this marquis event this year to something almost unrecognizable from its predecessor. Still, Sam took up the challenge and never let it see him sweat, even though that might have been a, “scorable action”. See what I did there? Even the terminology is new. Be willing to try hard things, even if they are indecipherable at first. 9th Place = Forensics, Jonathan & John 9th Place = Helicopters, Jonathan & John 9th Place = Rocks & Minerals, Nekijalyn & Anaiah 9th Place = WIDI, Nekijalyn & Jonathan 10th Place = A&P, Alissa & Crystal 10th Place = Materials Science, Jeff & Anaiah 11th Place = Astronomy, Cody & Jonathan 12th Place = Ecology, Alissa & Kristin 13th Place = (none) This is last place. We have nothing listed here. Every one of our events came “not last,” ahead of at least one other team. Even a little effort can count for something. 14th Place = (none) This is the “no show” category. We have nothing listed here either. Most of the school teams had 15 students competing. Many also had JV teams to draw from. Even so, every event except Herpetology and WIDI had at least one team not show up. In fact, one event had 5 teams not show up leaving only 8 schools competing for those 1st – 6th place medals. Do you like those odds? We should. We earned one of those (six out of 8) medals. To discourage “no shows” any team that doesn’t send in students to compete at a single event is penalized 1 point more than had they competed and simply come in last. (There were only 13 varsity teams competing. It is mathematically impossible to come in 14th place in such a field.) It is a credit to our little team that we competed in every event. Did you see those rows and rows of large school teams sitting together in the auditorium? Our team came in 6th among them! THAT. IS. PHENOMINAL!!!! Not a tournament goes by when at least one of those big school team coaches doesn’t ask me how we do it with so few students. Yesterday two coaches of a 30-student team were shocked when I told them we meet once or twice a month as a team but you do most of your studying / preparing on your own and not for a class assignment or grade. They replied, “You mean they study and prepare for their events because they want to?!” Yep. THAT, my dear team, is character. That is Spirit! And that is to be rewarded! So let’s have a party!!! Please watch your e-mail for information about our end of the year team party. There will be food, fun, and facts! (…certificates with your award data to keep on file for your future college applications. Science Olympiad Div. C medals earned at Regional are reported on page two as, “high school level Regional or State academic awards”.) Blessings, Mrs. Guo PS: Personal Assessment: I would also like to encourage each of you to take a few minutes to reflect on what you’ve learned over the course of the year just for yourselves or to discuss with your parents or each other as appropriate. You could journal some thoughts or write a summary paper for your file. Here are some questions to spark your thoughts. (This is not to be turned in. It is just for you.)
PPS: If you haven’t figured it out yet, all these life lessons and SO skills are setting you up well for college, the world of work, and other adult responsibilities. Well done team! You’re on your way. Dear Team.
What a day we had at Regional! There was a lot happening. Hre are the highlights as I saw them. (Even though this is long I think you’ll enjoy reading it.) Spirit Award~ There is a conscious effort to coach other teams how to win this. (I suppose other teams also demonstrating exemplary behavior is not a bad idea.) The plaque says, “Presented for displaying the best overall sportsmanship and spirit of the competition.” While the ballot coaches, event supervisors, and officials use to vote for this does reference team shirts and attire, I personally don’t take that to mean taping paper hearts to ourselves or dressing in full Disney costumes. Overall sportsmanship and spirit of the competition is about fair play, respect, preparedness, courtesy, and inclusion. It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts in that. It is also a standard below which we should never go. Here are some paraphrased versions of comments people shared with me verbally during the day. ISO Leadership, “We’re glad to have you here.” A Coach, “I’m so impressed with your team overall.” Another coach, “I’m always glad to see your team in competition.” A public school coach, “How do you guys do it? Carry on a team? Do you meet together? It’s impressive what your kids accomplish.” An Event Supervisor, “Your [specific event pair] students took the time to talk with me and carry on a meaningful conversation.” Another Event Supervisor, “Your [another specific event pair] students were a delight to work with.” Another Event Supervisor, “Chocolate? That’s so sweet!” Joe Simmons, State Co-Director, “We had a reporter in for the day from The Naperville Sun to cover [the tournament]. We mentioned your team to him as part of the community.” Personally, in my five years with this program I have observed that Science Olympiad is about half science and half life lessons. Carrying a reputation of respectfulness, integrity, and courtesy puts us in first place as a team by my calculations. If we can’t do that, especially when we’re losing, nothing else matters. This is a lesson that we will all continue to improve on. I’m so happy that you guys are all on track with this important character trait. Someday the other teams may catch on how to pass us up for the Spirit Award but for now the trend holds. From the year of its inception under The Learning Vine, our team has won Spirit Award in Every. Single. Regional Tournament. we have competed in. to date. Well done! Now, onto the science results. Team Ranking~ Did you hear them read the name of the alternate team in 6th place, St. Charles East? We landed right below them in 7th. We were beaten by UofC Lab, the 3 powerhouse D204 schools, IMSA, and St. Charles East. Actually, that’s an unusually high ranking for UofC Lab. Based on point spreads, if all our ducks had been flying that day, we still would have needed one of those powerhouse teams to drop their ball for us to move on to State. They all had good days and we can congratulate them for that. It just means we get to our end of the year party sooner! (In case you’re curious, the teams we beat in descending order were Plainfield East at six points behind us, then Oswego East, Joliet West, Homewood Flossmoor, and Joliet Central. That’s an improvement in position for Plainfield East. I’m guessing they are hoping to pass us up next year.) Event Finishing Ranks~ *2nd Place: WIDI, Nekijalyn & Jonathan. She writes. He builds. They win. Communicating engineering ideas with words is a skill. Expressing an interpretation of written words by engineering a construction is another skill. These two have them both. Way to go Kai and Jon! We’re all proud of you for the dedication you have shown to researching, developing, and practicing these important skills. *3rd Place: Electric Vehicle, Ray & Devon. Build a car, powered by a battery, to go a distance you don’t know ahead of time, stop on its own, win a timed race, test it and keep of log of that, while you stand behind a line and watch, with no remote? Nice job Ray! Way to start what could be a nice career in SO. Devon, your calm spirit and leadership experience competing was the perfect balance to Ray’s first time out. Well done both of you! *4th Place: Optics, Jeff & Sam. Before it is turned on, aim a light to shine at a target but go around corners and bounce off mirrors to get there. Geometry anyone? Our math specialists Jeff and Sam can handle that. Nice job guys! (Anybody want to play them in laser tag?) *4th Place: Helicopters, Sam & Jeff. People laughed at DaVinci when he dreamed up manned flight then it took hundreds of years for the Wright brothers to take off. Sam & Jeff demonstrated an understanding of aerodynamics, a steady hand, and the ability to meet requirements to build working helicopters in a few months. Way to go Walkos! *4th Place: Towers, Cody & Jonathan. Building something your going to test to the breaking point takes commitment. I’m glad we have people who do things like this when I’m driving across bridges so I don’t have to worry about becoming the “sand in the bucket”. Nice job guys! You carried your load well. 7th Place: Forensics, Sophia & Alexis. I’d like to give you two the “most improved” award for this event. Alexis, that you went from being a novice to finishing in 7th at Regional is a testament to your efforts. That you both reached this level pretty much on your own is also a testament to Sophia’s leadership. I’m proud of you both for the work you put in. Well done. 8th Place: Chem Lab, Sophia & Sam. A good showing is a very hard event. Literally. It was a good thing that your test paper showed up and was graded. (Sam, did you hear they lost your Chem Lab test paper?) 8th Place: Disease Detectives, Nekijalyn & Jeff. Tracking diseases is a real issue facing the world today. I’m glad people like Kai and Jeff are practicing this now. We’re going to need oversight like this in this important field in the future. (Since they were medaling at Invites I’m guessing it must have been tricky bugs this time out.) 8th Place: Ecology, Cayla & Leo. Cayla, you came willingly drafted to the team this year and lifted this event to 8th place. (Did you see above where I noted we finished six points ahead of the team behind us? Do the math without this event finishing in 8th.) It was a joy to have you among us as a participant rather than simply a sibling. Leo, I’m glad you stretched yourself with this academic event. It’s a good practice for anyone to reach out into new areas on occasion. 8th Place: Microbe Mission, Nekijalyn. Taking this on alone was a big challenge. I suspect this event will return next year so you’ll have a jump on it when we find you an actual partner. Even so, I’m proud of your efforts in microbes. 8th Place: Robot Arm, Cody & Leo. Although your robot arm performed at the highest levels at Invitationals, this time out the other robots just played the better hand. We can congratulate them and look to improve ours. That’s what competition is about. I would encourage you to shrug this off and grow from it. 9th Place: Experimental Design, Sophia, Nekijalyn & Alexis. I think it was the Ex. Des. Event Supervisor I overheard in the scoring room complaining about how difficult this event is to grade. How much more difficult is it for the students to take? Still, the three of you showed dedication by reviewing your tests after each Invite, going over the rubric, and developing a strategy to produce your best product. Being able to follow a complex model like they are asking for on the Ex. Des. rubric is a skill that will serve you well in the future in science and in all of life. 9th Place: Game On, Sam & Jeff. So they must have found your uploaded / e-mailed game after all. I am glad SO has a way to resolve mysteries like missing computer files and that you both assisted in the search in a calm and professional manner. Well done. 9th Place: Remote Sensing, Matthew & Devon. Using satellite images to detect weather issues? Now that you’ve had your heads in the clouds I hope you won’t consider using your satellite skills for nefarious purposes, like hijacking self-driving pizza delivery trucks or Amazon Prime drones. Always use your powers for good. (Send the pizza to my house.) 9th Place: Rocks & Minerals, Sophia & Matthew. You two are gems on this team. It has been a real pleasure digging into science with you over the years. I’m glad we left no stone unturned in the realm of event topics as you gathered no moss trying so many of them. Wonder what you’re going to do next year without SO? As Holmes said, “It’s sedimentary my dear Watson.” You’re eroding off to colleges where I’m sure you’ll crack a few puns yourselves. 10th Place: Anatomy & Physiology, Nekijalyn & Alexis. It always amazes me how complex the human body is and even more how people can learn the intricacies of it. It is an example of God’s creativity and care. I have full confidence in both of you that you will continue to glorify Him as you increase your knowledge in all subject areas as your education continues. 10th Place: Dynamic Planet, Matthew & Ray. …and… 10th Place: Material Science, Matthew & Sam. Two more examples of subject matter as big as the world…literally. The earth is worth learning about so we can care for it and you are commended for picking up the challenge. Always learning, always working, always changing, always growing. Sounds pretty dynamic, huh? Keep it up. 11th Place: Astronomy, Cody & Jonathan. My comments for this one are a tip of the hat to Cody for picking up where Jake left off. (Did you all know Jake met with Cody over Christmas break to help him with Astronomy?) Cody, you were brave to take this event on and I have to commend you for coming in, “not last”. That may not sound like much to celebrate but who else of us dared to shoot for the stars? 11th Place: Hovercraft, Leo & Devon. This one is a real mystery. Leo clearly has the skill to build a device like this. His hovercraft was performing on the test track. We’ve seen his other amazing complex machines in past year’s competitions. What happened to keep his hovercraft on the ground during competitions might never be figured out. (Although, it would be a good summer research question for you Leo. Maybe the Ex. Des. team can get together with you to isolate the variables that failed.) Regardless, there’s learning that can happen and I hope you’ll seek that out. Valiant and heroic effort nonetheless. For that I say, “Well done.” 11th Place: Hydrogeology, Alexis & Cayla. It may not look like much but I’ll say it again. Finishing, “not last” is a benefit to the team score. Thanks for coming on the team this year girls. It was refreshing to have you both with us. 11th Place: Invasive Species, Cayla & Matthew. Weeding out what to study and what is creeping in unwanted can be a challenge on any topic. You two took this one on even without seeing all the undergrowth. Most likely the seeds of knowledge grew in you in the process sprouting an interest in more. 12th Place: Wind Power, Devon & Ray. It is a mystery how an event can medal at one competition and end up dead last another. The only thing I can think of is that the other Wind Power teams just did better than us this time out and that’s ok. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you don’t. All we are is dust in the wind… (stopping now) Let me end by saying it was a delight to see all of you getting along and enjoying each other so much. I’m guessing the other parents would agree especially since half of you are siblings…to the other half! (Sorry Matthew and Cody. It’s an anomaly worth pointing out.) Over the course of this year I’ve seen you all playing Jeopardy, Hide & Seek, cards, Nerf darts, walkie talkies, and more. I’ve seen you collaborating on science and helping out in each other’s events. I’ve seen you sharing snacks. I’ve noticed how no one is excluded from group activities and you each contribute something of value to the group dynamic. In short, I’ve seen, a real Team. Thank you all for conducting yourselves with so much respect and love for each other. It has indeed been a privilege to walk through this year of Science Olympiad with each and every one of you. Now it’s time for us to have a PAR-TAY! Blessings, Mrs. Guo ps: I have been sick the past week and am still not completely well after a tiring weekend. Please forgive any errors or omissions you may discover in my summary. Nothing like that is intentional. I hold you each in the highest regard. pps: Our End Of Year Team Party is on the calendar for March 24. Hope you all can make it. (I’ll need to collect any team supplies and resources you may have anyway.) In case you're curious how we fared at the end of our season...
Dear Team. We finished 9th overall among 13 top notch teams, right behind Naperville North. Ahead of them was Libertyville who was just behind University of Chicago Lab School and IMSA. This year the top five are going to state. That means U of C Lab school is staying home as our Region’s Alternate team. I had an interesting conversation with the U of C Lab coach while we were waiting to hand out medals. After he first very generously complimented those of you he saw in events, he told me their science team competes in three other programs like Science Olympiad including WYSE, an Engineering focused program and one built around the Environment. Guys, we finished three behind them!! Spirit Award; the only award that really matters. Twenty years from now it won’t matter how many medals we had clinking around our necks at the end of the day. But it will matter for eternity that we treated one another in God honoring ways. Matt. 22:37-40, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Studying God’s creation (science) is one way to love the Lord with all our mind. (We can appreciate God’s handiwork as well as improve our ability to care it.) But the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors. That, my dear team, was on display in full glitter gel color today. Before awarding this honor Dr. Thuys said that, in addition to the standard qualities of sportsmanship, wearing team colors, etc., the reason we won the spirit award was, “…showing appreciation to the judges.” Imagine that! Sophia told me when they presented their thank you card to the Experimental Design Supervisor she replied like this. “Your team picture is cute but you’re blocking your school logo on the wall.” Sophia replied, “That’s not our school.” Then another judge in the room said, “They are the homeschool team.” Jake told me one of his judges picked up the thank you card from where he had it under the table thinking it was litter or something. Then after she looked at it she appreciated the gesture. Devon and Riley went back to the Wind Power room with their thank you card that had been left in the homeroom. Their judge was impressed by the effort behind that sentiment and hung around chatting with the guys. So how did we place in our events? We earned six medals with one seventh place finish just out of the running. Here is the results summary with a few comments. (Oh, those powerhouse teams that came in ahead of us? They actually ranked behind us in a number of our medaling events so I’m including that for our medalists in parentheses.) 1st – Astronomy, Jake. By himself. In a room where there was questionable activity going on. In the middle of a long day. You did great, Jake. We’re all proud of you. 4th - A&P, Matthew & Rachel. Who knew there was so much to skin, hair, and nails? Who did? You did! Way to go. (You came in ahead of Metea, Lyons Township, IMSA, U of C Lab and all the teams below us.) 4th - Bridge Building, Jake & Leo. All the sand in the bucket! All the sand! For one brief shining moment anyway. (You came in ahead of Libertyville, U of C Lab, Waubonsie, Metea, and all the teams below us.) 4th - Wright Stuff, Jake & Kurt. One good flight and one flash in the pan. Still, it was a beautifully engineered device. We have high hopes that both of you will continue to soar for the clouds in future. (You came in ahead of Waubonsie, Lyons Township, Libertyville, Neuqua, Naperville North, and all the teams below us.) 4th - Write It Do It, Nekijilyn & Jonathan. This is a very respectable finish among a very competitive field. WIDI is a skill all of us need to develop as it becomes a resource in so many areas. The fact that you landed in 4th, writing / building a device with pieces you haven’t worked with before, illustrates you have the skill. (You came in ahead of Libertyville, Waubonsie, Neuqua, U of C Lab, IMSA, Metea, and more.) 5th – Forensics, Sophia& Rachel. This is the highest finishing place our team has earned in this event, an event MOMR didn’t think we’d ever have a chance in. (You came in ahead of Libertyville, your lab partner-friends from Neuqua, U of C Lab, IMSA, and all the teams below us.) That’s six Regional medals for our little team; a nice collection of bling, indeed. We know it is true that some medal places can be separated by as little as .001. So, finishing in 7th is also very respectable. Each of these helps the team score overall by not dragging us down. (The top five teams that are going to State had eight 7th place finishes.) 7th - Wind Power, Devon & Riley. Did you all hear Congressman Foster’s comment about going home after competition or waking up the next day with ideas on what maybe could be done differently? Over the course of this season the Wind Power device has undergone a significant evolution; after each competition. One more time out and this device would have been in strong medal contention. (You came in ahead of Lyons Township High School, the 2nd place overall team.) Eighth place is also a good result. Think of where you each were when the season started. It is also worth mentioning that all the rest of these actually did finish in the “not last” category. It’s a good starting point. I sincerely hope we can grow from here. Well done everyone. 8th - Disease Detectives, Rachel & Jake. 8th - Electric Vehicle, Leo & Jack. 8th – Fossils, Kurt & Jack. 9th - Chem Lab, Jake & Sophia. 9th - Game On, Greg & Devon. 9th – Hydrogeology, Kurt & Nekijilyn. 9th - It’s About Time, Leo & Sam. 10th - Air Trajectory, Sophia & Jonathan. 10th - Cell Biology, Matthew & Nekijilyn. 10th - Dynamic Planet, Kurt & Jake. 10th - Experimental Design, Sophia, Rachel, & Greg. 10th - GeoLogic Mapping, Jake & Sam. 10th - Green Generation, Sophia & Rachel. 10th - Protein Modeling, Matthew & Sam. 10th - Robot Arm, Leo & Jack. 11th - Invasive Species, Devon & Riley. With such an exciting day going on I think one of my favorite moments happened at about 3:15pm when we were all in the homeroom after the testing was done. You guys were chatting, parents were talking, little kids were playing on the floor, and there was science-y stuff all over the room. It felt cozy like hanging out after a family holiday meal. Thank you all for competing together with such a spirit. That plaque, special as it is, does not convey the spirit of community you all so easily project. It is an honor to be considered among you. Blessings, Mrs. Guo It's a false choice really. Science isn't against The Bible. I had some fun illustrating that recently while posting results from a Science Olympiad Invitational. Enjoy.
Dear Team. So how did you like Huntley? The clean new facility, hearty lunch, and exciting pre-awards entertainment all make it fun. But, being able to compete with Division A teams makes it great! (Division A is made up of smaller or newer teams. Division AA is larger, more experienced teams.) We will see a mix of Division A and Division AA at Regional but there will be fewer teams total. ~ Of the 44 total teams competing on Saturday, there were 25 classified as Division A. Our team ranked 8th out of those, and 22nd overall ahead of 4 Division AA teams. We did not win the Spirit Award this time around. (I will be posting a separate message on that topic as well as some encouragement on what everyone can do to potentially increase scores across the board. Simple really, if you are in an academic event, study more. If you are in build event, improve your device. If you are in an inquiry event, practice to improve your speed or accuracy. For all events, know your rules.) ~ The 12 of us competed in all 23 events. That alone is an accomplishment to be proud of. Competing as an academic team of homeschoolers on the same playing field with institutional school teams of 15 plus alternates and still covering all the bases, demonstrates great sportsmanship and community spirit. On top of that, we medaled in 9 events with one landing just out of medal contention in 6th and another right behind in 7th. (6th place will be medaled at Regional and 7th helps the overall team score.) Here’s the summary. For a change of pace, rather than writing personal comments on each event, this time I’ve decided to share a related bible verse. The point is to encourage you that, like all aspects of science, what you are studying and working on is a way to understand part of God’s creation and therefore worth your time and effort. *Astronomy, Jake& Jonathan = 1st Place Division A (2nd overall) Psalm 147:4, “He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name.” (NIV) *Wright Stuff, Jake& Kurt = 2nd Place Division A (15th overall) Isaiah 40:31a, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.” (KJV) *Air Trajectory, Sophia & Jonathan = 4th Place Division A (9th overall) Isaiah 60:8, “Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nest?” (NIV) *Anatomy & Physiology, Rachel & Matthew = 4th Place Division A (14th overall) Matt. 10:30, “And even the very hairs of your head are numbered.” (NIV) *Bridge Building, Jake & Leo = 4th Place Division A (10th overall) Gal. 6:2, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (NIV) *Disease Detectives, Rachel& Jake = 5th Place Division A (13th overall) I Kings 8:37, “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come *Forensics, Sophia& Rachel = 5th Place Division A (13th overall) Num. 32:23b, “…be sure that your sin will find you out.” (NIV) *Geologic Mapping, Jake & Sam = 5th Place Division A (15th overall) Josh 18:8a, “As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, ‘Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it.’ “ (NIV) *It’s About Time, Leo& Sam = 5th Place Division A (16th overall) Josh. 23:1a, “After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them…” (NIV) Dynamic Planet, Kurt & Jake = 6th Place Division A (17th overall) Psalm 148:7, “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths.” (NIV) Fossils, Kurt & Jack = 7th Place Division A (19th overall) Job 19:24, “that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever.” (NIV) Electric Vehicle, Leo & Jack = 9th Place Division A (22nd overall) Jer. 4:13, “Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles.” (NIV) Green Generation, Sophia & Rachel = 12th Place Division A (25th overall) Gen. 1:28a, “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (NIV) Cell Biology, Matthew & Nekijalyn = 13th Place Division A (31st overall) Psalm 139:13, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (NIV) Chem Lab, Jake & Sophia = 15th Place Division A (28th overall) II Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” (NIV) Experimental Design, Sophia, Rachel, Sam = 15th Place Division A (29th overall) Daniel 5:16a, “Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. (NIV) WIDI, Jonathan & Nekijilyn = 15th Place Division A (29th overall) Zech. 8:9, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Now hear these words, “Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.” ’ “ (NIV) Hydrogeology, Kurt & Nekijalyn = 17th Place Division A (34th overall) Psalm 1:3a, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.” (KJV) Protein Model, Matthew & Sam = 18th Place Division A (33rd overall) I Sam. 6:5a, “Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god.” (NIV) Wind Power, Devon & Riley = 20th Place Division A (38th overall) Psalm 78:26, “He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow.” (NIV) Game On, Devon & Riley = 22nd Place Division A (40th overall) I Cor. 9:25, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (NIV) Invasive Species, Devon & Riley = 22nd Place Division A (40th overall) Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (KJV) Robot Arm, Leo & Jack = 24th Place Division A (43rd overall) Gen. 8:9b, “He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.” (NIV) It really is a privilege to be working with all of you toward our academic team goal. I encourage you to plan out these next two weeks with research, study, and practice on your events so we can do our best to finish strong at Regional on March 5th. The next thing you need to plan on is meeting with your partners on your own. This should happen over these next two weeks before our next team meeting on March 4. THEN REGIONAL COMPETITION ON MARCH 5 AT NEUQUA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL IN NAPERVILLE. Blessings, Mrs. Guo I think the best thing about how we celebrate Christ coming to Earth to live among us and ultimately die for our sins is spending time with extended family. I remember as a child “all the cousins” coming over to our house and some of our traditions together. My family hosted annually for around ten years. Everybody came. (Many stayed overnight.) Each family brought something. Now I am hosting on occasion. This year I made modern versions of some of the foods that were regularly brought to those old Christmas gatherings.
Wisconsin Beef Pot Roast w/ Veggies in honor of Aunt LuAnn Split Pea Soup w/ Bacon in honor of Grandma Crees Sweedish Limpa Bread in honor of Grandma Daniels Homemade Cucumber Pickles in honor of Great-grandma Crees Canned Peaches in honor of my mom My Own Pumpkin Pie German Peppernut Cookies in honor of Aunt Carol Those great ladies had some mad cooking skills. They had to. Some were farm wives. Some lived through the Great Depression. Some raised children during wartime. Some took in boarders to make ends meet. They were among the first generation of women to work outside the home. One was the daughter of virtual pioneers on the Kansas prairie. My own mom perfected her canning and pickling skills during the energy crisis of the 70’s and 80’s when gasoline, mortgage interest, and inflation were all crazy high. They lived in big cities, on homestead farms, in the first ever modern suburbs, on the prairie, even in an old company coal town. How do you suppose my 20th century matriarchs would expect me to cook their dishes in the 21st century? Automated and with robots of course! (Remember back when we were kids and all thought we’d have flying cars by now?) We are surrounded daily with so much innovation we don’t realize how blessed we really are. What is standard in most suburban American kitchens in 2015 was still in the imagination of sci-fi writers a hundred years ago. Here’s a list of the industrialized developments I used to make this meal. 8 qt. programmable crock pot 6 qt. programmable crock pot Automatic programmable bread machine Mandolin slicer KitchenAid mixer Programmable double oven Range with convection Multi-function programmable toaster oven 30 cu. ft. consumer kitchen refrigerator with filtered water dispenser Auxiliary chest freezer Tupperware airtight staples canisters Three separate cutting boards (for meat, veggies, and breads) Bread slicing guide Marble pastry board Multi-function microwave State of the art consumer kitchen dishwasher Kitchen garbage disposal 50 gallon residential hot water heater Gas Forced Air Central HVAC Electric lights Insulated water tight house Today, in most of the world I am keenly aware that a 30 cu. ft. refrigerator which dispenses potable municipally processed water after filtering it a second time is indeed a luxury. Two thousand years ago Mary and Joseph may have carried water in wineskins on their trek to Bethlehem. I have a freezer in my garage full of meet. Jesus had an animal feed bin as His bed. I have a device that makes straight slices of bread which was cooked in another automatic device. Jesus broke handmade flat bread with His hands. Followers of the Prince of Peace are right now being chased from their homes in the Middle East for their worship of Him. No one is presently chasing my family from our house which has heat, water, and food. I will not complain about the “work” of preparing Christmas dinner. Besides the fact that I had so much automation helping me, I consider it a blessing simply to be able to cook healthy food in a safe environment for my protected family to eat even if I don't have mad cooking skills. I do hope the heritage I pass on to my kids is more than recipes and modernization. Christmas is about God’s plan of salvation from this world full of sin. Although then He came as a servant, He will come back soon this time as King of Kings. A table spread with heritage food, which of course includes cookies, is great but Christmas is about Jesus. That message doesn't change over time. Merry Christmas Everyone! Dear Team.
I was on the road half the day yesterday thinking about all the great things that happened on Saturday. Sophia and I laughed out loud so many times sharing what each other observed / experienced. One thing is for sure. I could not have asked for a better team or better work out of a team. Each and every one of you should be proud of what you accomplished on so many levels. Let me tell you why... (Please excuse any unintentional omissions or errors. I drove 8 hours yesterday and am still tired. Also, I know this is long but you may enjoy actually reading all of it so wait until you have the time. Hint: you'll be glad if you make it to the end.) Team Ranking: 8th place overall. (Top 6 are going to State.) It's not what we hoped for but there's a lot can be said about what we accomplished here. We landed 2 spots below IMSA. We beat some very large (Oswego East) and very respectable (Lake Forest Academy) schools. We were the only team in our division competing in all the events with just 10 kids, no building, very little resources, and volunteer parents / coaches. After extending congratulations to our middle school division sister team, Fox Valley Homeschool, on their 5th place finish earning them a trip to State, their coach Mrs. Tina Cumbey and I are more convinced than ever this is a numbers game. That team competed with 13 this year, their biggest roster to date. We had only 10. There are 15 spots on the team. You guys are awesome. We just need a few more of you to go the distance. We still had a great finish even though our season is over. (So we have our party sooner rather than later. It's all good.) 1st Place: Spirit Award. I've said it before. This is the only category that counts in the long run. 20 years from now it won't matter if a ping pong ball landed in a bucket. But it will matter that you each conducted yourselves with maturity and respect beyond your years. As you read through the rest of this e-mail (sorry Mrs. Ramsey. I have to go narrative today) look for comments marked with * indicating activities that, in addition to quality personal interactions you each had with all of your judges *, may have contributed to our winning this award. Funny thing happened in the scoring room. I was turning in our judging results from WIDI -B when I realized I hadn't filled out a coach ballot for Spirit Award. We did fill out a judge ballot for a Div. B team since that's who we saw in WIDI. But my coach ballot was in our homeroom with the rest of my stuff. So I asked the organizer for a replacement ballot because I hadn't voted that yet. She said, "They're already done calculating that." Me: "I haven't voted and I would like to." Her: "The trophies are already out there." Me: "My students cleaned up our homeroom and packed all my materials * into my car including my ballot." Her, while smiling: "You can go to your car to get your ballot." Me: "They have my keys too." Her: "We don't have any more ballots." Me: "OK." Later she confirmed she knew my vote wouldn't matter regardless of who I voted for. The majority had already spoken and we were decided winner without my vote. (You earned every one of those votes that day.) 1st Place: Air Trajectory - Derek & Joe. From what I heard this was a real crowd pleaser! (When did you decide to try the bucket shot?) The whole gym erupting in cheer at one ping pong ball landing in a bucket? That's awesome! You turned PVC pipe, pennies, and a ping pong ball into a piece of engineering art. Great job! 1st Place: Wright Stuff - Jake & Derek. Now this was a nail biter! From getting in a time slot that fit and being able to do it gracefully and in such as way as to not raise an arbitration issue * , to seeing the plane break on the second flight and reacting with grace * , to knowing who we were up against (former US National champion). You held up under pressure and soared to new heights. We might have known from the judge's reaction to your first flight time but were kept in suspense all day. Great job! 3rd Place: Bridge Building - Jake & Matthew. Have you all seen the slow motion video? It goes on forever with sand just going down, down, down. Then it blows up in a glorious fail! Really, really cool! It was a really nice bridge and brought in a really nice medal. Great job! 3rd Place: It's About Time - Jake & Leo. So was it true? Was it a pendulum device that won? Sounds like our pendulum device did pretty well. It certainly takes the gold for consistency being one of our regularly medaling events all year. Great Job! 3rd Place: Mission Possible - Leo & Joe. Along with winning 3rd place at Regional, this device should get the most improved award. Team, do you realize Leo took apart the device after each competition and started over incorporating what he observed at each of those Invites? This is the first time I ever saw fire in a MP device. (Yes, Mrs. Ramsey. He used real fire.) Beyond the obvious level of innovation evident * , what strikes me most is the development of an apparent mentor relationship between Leo and Mike Quill, State Supervisor of MP. I was pleased to see Mike came out of his judge seat after the 3rd place medal was called, walk over to the bleachers, shake Leo's hand and clap him on the back in congratulations. Then after the crowd dispersed he hung around and talked with Leo and his dad for a long time. Mike also told both me and Mrs. Cumbey, coach of our middle school division sister team, that he teaches two homeschooled kids he's recommending join our team * . That's right. The Illinois state supervisor for Mission Possible is recruiting for OUR team! (I gave him our website and will follow up with personal e-mail.) 4th Place: Astronomy - Jake & Joe. Another very consistent event for us. The two of you worked hard on this all year and it paid off. Big dedication to no small subject. Great job! 5th Place: Compound Machines - Jake & Leo. I saw the device. (Was that a machine?) Really cool! Great job! 5th Place: Technical Problem Solving - Jake & Maddy. On any team there are people playing different roles. Maddy was our longest serving floater this year. She was willing to be assigned * to the TPS team the night before with the instruction to assist Jake doing whatever he asked her to do. She was put there because every one else was schedule conflicted and she has good handwriting. There are a few events where a scribe is an important role. This is one of them. Jake said publically, he could not have completed the event in the time allowed without Maddy's contribution as scribe. He also said she graphed the data he gave her in a very good way. Maddy, please know that you did in fact earn that medal. Jake, I am proud of how you treated all your floating teammates all year with respect and equality * including waiting for Maddy at the bottom of the bleachers * to walk over to the medal table together. (Facing even smiling judges can be intimidating.) Great job! ============= Even though this is the end of the medal round, events that finished 7th or lower are just as important. At their various levels they contributed value to the overall team score. In some cases there may have been as little as .001 between them and the next higher placement. Achieving this level in this field of competition is remarkable on its own and these competitors are congratulated for that. Because they have been on the upswing over the past few months I have no doubt that if we had one more competition these events would continue to finish higher and higher. (As an encouragement I will be listing if any of these events ranked above any of the top 7 finishing schools that came in ahead of our team ranking.) Back to the results. ============= 7th Place: Bungee Drop - Sophia & Joe. If we saw no other improvement in this event this year I still call it a success for overcoming the dreaded elasticity test * , no small feat in the dead of winter especially since it is still not clarified on the official SO website *, and mastering the manipulation of the drop formula! By participating in this event Sophia is also learning about the properties of rubber. Last year it was shrinkage. This year it was stickiness. If we had one more competition with this device we might have oiled or treated the rubber bands somehow so that they would more willingly slide against each other during drops rather than sticking. I know not everyone is interested in those concepts. What is applicable to all is the trial / error / observe / improve process. Here's hoping stick-to-it-ive-ness and willingness to stretch oneself is a trait we all can take with us. Well done! (You came in ahead of IMSA who is going to State.) 7th Place: Forensics - Sophia & Lucy. This is huge! Finishing 7th place at Regional in an event some might think is hopeless is fantastic. (Big shout out to Mrs. Walko, Assistant Coach from our middle school sister team, who was Sophia's first Forensics event coach and continued to advise us last year and this year.) Sophia & Lucy, you dedicated time to work on this and came up with good process improvement. Propping up your chromatography with a bent piece of wooden stick * and labeling your beaker "Learning Vine" at the communal station * was innovative and memorable. (The rest of the teams either had to stand there or lost their papers for falling into the beaker.) Charting, drawing your conclusions, time management, all good skills you'll take with you. Well done! (You came in ahead of Metea who is going to State and Lisle who finished above our team overall.) 7th Place: Fossils - Lucy & Sophia. This was all about the binder and that was all Lucy. Research, data collection, and organization, all things you can take with you in life. And the binder we can update or use again for next year if the event remains. Well done! (You came in ahead of IMSA who is going to State.) 7th Place: Green Generation - David & Daniel. A very respectable finish indeed! Daniel, we hope you enjoyed your visit to the team and will think about joining us next year. David, you brought this event to a competitive level within striking distance of a medal which also helped the team ranking tremendously! The both of you can certainly be proud of this accomplishment. Well done! (You came in ahead of Metea who is going to State.) 8th Place: Protein Model - Matthew & David. I saw your model sitting with the rest of them in the test event room. It looked great and certainly the 3" x 5" card was right in with the others' formats. 8th place is a very respectable finish at Regional especially in this very competitive field. I'm proud of what you've accomplished and I hope you are too. Well done! 9th Place: Experimental Design - Sophia & Maddy. This event is about recognizing an unspoken question, developing a way to find an answer, finding that answer, and reporting all of it according to a standard. Our team was the reigning 2nd place Regional medalist in this event and you two kept us in the ball game with this finish. What I am most proud of is that you jumped in, used your noggins, and dug through. A very strong finishing place for an event neither of you prepared to do. Well done! (You came in ahead of IMSA who is going to State.) 9th Place: Write It Do It - Derek & Joe. "Hexagons in a box." Now go build that. Could you do it? Derek and Joe did. Functioning within unnatural guidelines is challenging. You conformed and came out with a finished product. That is something to be proud of. Well done! (You came in ahead of Naperville North who is going to State.) 10th Place: Chem Lab - Jake & Maddy. This is a challenging event and we're grateful for Maddy's willingness to sub in. The two of you kept us out of the basement with this finish and we're hopeful for team improvement next year. Nice job! (You came in ahead of Lisle who finished above our team overall.) 10th Place: Entomology - Lucy & Derek. Thinking maybe there were no vampire butterflies this time around? You kept us out of the basement with this finish and we're hopeful for team improvement for next year. Nice job. 10th Place: Geologic Mapping - Sophia & Derek. Sophia told me she did the rocks part and Derek did the mapping part. This is a good example of divide and conquer. I'm thinking we just ran out of time to prep for or it could have finished higher. Still, nice job because... (You came in ahead of Naperville North who is going to State.) 11th Place: Disease Detectives - Jake & Derek. Hoping it didn't put you at a disadvantage arriving a few minutes late from Wright Stuff. (That was worth it though.) You said the questions were weird and that sometimes happens. Different judges have different perspectives on the subjects. You never know what you're going to get. Might as well enjoy the chocolate then, right? Nice job. 13th Place: Anatomy & Physiology - Maddy & Matthew. 13th Place: Cell Biology - Matthew & David. 13th Place: Dynamic Planet - David & Joe. I only have two comments on our 13th place finishing events. I think this is where it shows we are short handed. David came on board only a month ago and did what he could. Matthew and Joe were spread out in other events. What our team lacked this year was someone jazzed about biology to really shine with some of these. Still, it is no doubt in my mind that it shows character that we mounted students to compete in every event * including these. Second, had all four of our 13th place finishers been "no shows" we would have earned 14 points each of them rather than 13. That's a 4 point differential. We were precisely 4 points ahead of the 9th place team behind us, Oswego East. Personally, since my family lives in District 308 and Sophia would be attending Oswego East if she were in public school, I can not tell you how meaningful it is to me and my family that our team came in ahead of them. 13th Place: Scrambler - Sophia & Lucy. Yes car 4.0 failed. Thanks to Mr. Gavin's insight, and other observations about rubber getting sticky, we think we now know what one step could overcome that string issue. One more competition and this event would easily have been in top tier medal contention. It was launching with top three accuracy during trials at Aurora Skate Center. (Shout out of thanks to Dan Warner for giving us access to the skate floor.) Trial and error. Innovation and invention. Data observation and calculations. Yah, that. Here's what you really need to know about Scrambler. I attended a coaches meeting with all the Regional coaches including the Scrambler Regional judge, who also judged at Huntley. From a comment he made to the group I took him to be critical and picky, someone who doesn't take any gruff. The fact that he ding'ed our Scrambler team for 1,000 point penalty on a 1mm build violation at Huntley Invitational confirms that. (Consistent with what our Libertyville Scrambler judges did as well.) Even so, Sophia and Lucy were poised to make a good impression on him at Huntley. They took the 1mm build violation in stride * and responded with good advocacy skills when he questioned them on a design element we "borrowed" from something seen on a Stevenson car. (Shout out to Mrs. Montalbano and Mr. Johanik for that idea.) This guy is the head coach of Waubonsie Valley's team and he had to consult his rules sheet at Huntley based on Sophia and Lucy's knowledge of the event * and advocacy for their position * . Fast forward to Regional where Scrambler car failed to cross the start line due to the dreaded string vs. rubber washer issue just diagnosed by Mr. Gavin the day before. Scrambler judge attempted a sympathetic comment at the failure to Sophia & Lucy who responded, "That happens sometimes." * Scrambler Judge replies, "Well, I hope the rest of your events go well for your team." Just then the entire gym erupts in cheer for a singularly phenomenal event; a ping pong ball landing in a bucket. * Sophia answers back to Scrambler Judge, "Thanks. Apparently we just did." * Scrambler judge laughed. After all the awards were announced and the D204 schools were taking their "We're headed to State" team photos in the bleachers, Scrambler Judge, himself head coach of WVHS, came through the crowd on the gym floor to find me. He said something like this. "I wanted to come find you and tell you how impressed I was with your students, all your students, but especially the Scrambler team." (I thanked him for judging Scrambler.) "I've seen them a few times throughout the season. They always conduct themselves with an impressive level of grace and maturity. * When their car failed, rather than react badly they simply said, 'Sometimes that happens.' They are a very impressive group and you should be proud of what they've done. * " I was shocked because he said it with such eloquence and high vocabulary I didn't even recognize him as the same guy who did not strike me at all as graceful at the coaches meeting. He was literally praising our kids while his team sat waiting in the bleachers. I'll say it again. I couldn't be more prouder of any of you for how you preformed on Saturday. You each represented your faith, families, and homeschooling community with grace and excellence. I consider it a privilege to hear these reports and be associated with each and every one of you. Blessings, Mrs. Guo ps: We're off to basketball now. Please forgive any omissions or errors you may have found. How often do you hear that? Kids really loving their gifts? I was pleased that that was our experience this year. Why should I be surprised? First I should mention my husband is something of a professional shopping engineer. By that I mean he has quantified all the variables related to selecting and securing stuff. I personally haven't mastered this but I think the algorithm goes something like this. [MSRP] - [seasonal sale discounts] - [club membership discounts] - [coupon or competitor coupon matching] = actual purchase price. Then you take other more intrinsic factors and add them to calculate "gift value index". Those factors include general popularity of the item, what it is made of, whether it is extremely new (modern) or extremely old (historic), if the item conforms with desirable cultural ideals, how large it is, how flashy it is, etc. That's how he chooses what to buy. He maintains an ongoing collection of "gift" items he can draw from any time the need for a gift should arise; unexpected out of town visitors, wedding invite, last minute birthday party, etc. Did you notice one criteria completely absent from his formula? Never once did I mention anything about the person to whom the gift is being given. This is not at all how I choose gifts. (And these are gifts my kids and I usually don't enjoy receiving.) Factors I take into account when selecting a gift are (in this order) the occasion, the person, budget, the practicality of the gift. So this year for Christmas my gifts were very intentional and absolutely did not fit his algorithm. Since my son is known for finding his gifts I waited until the 23rd to shop. My youngest daughter has been asking for a pet but she's not really ready to go it on her own so her sister offered tank space. Besides we have a dog so there are limits to what other animals would coexist. That's kind of the how. Now here's the what. Oh, and the items on this list range in price from $0.19 to $20. blocks of carving wood the world's largest coloring book (sort of) an educational science game and rock project water show computer speakers gloves, scarves, and hats a lego kit four goldfish from Meijer "Liberty's Kids" the complete series on DVD a build your own four cylinder engine kit Now here's the thing. What do you think my kids did during their break? It was all about building. They built the legos and engine. They colored and assembled speakers. They watched "Liberty's Kids" and Mythbusters and Duck Dynasty marathons on TV. We made cookies. We assembled new stick furniture, cleaned house, and set a pretty table. Then, since it was a beautiful sun shiny day, they played in the yard and found frozen rain water in the sandbox. Of course they carved 3d relief images in the chunks which now hang on the outside of my north facing windows. The best thing is that I watched them go from a typical whiny, "When can we open our presents?" attitude to, "I can't wait to see what the Myth Busters are going to do next!" And, "Hey guys! Put on your coats and boots and come see what I found outside." These are good hands-on home-grown kids. I couldn't be happier with their response to the items, programming, and activities we had this Christmas. I hope they learn to put thought into their choices in the future. Come to think of it, I guess I do have my own algorithm. ;) |
Brenda G.Enjoying the journey through my kids' childhood as a home educating mom. (And no, I don't have time for a blog but sometimes you just gotta write.) Archives
April 2019
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