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.)
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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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