Science Olympiad

St. Thomas More Catholic School Middle School participated for the first time in the N.C. Science Olympiad (Division B) at UNC-Greensboro on Saturday, March 21. The team, lead by science teachers Karen Kingrea and Chelsea Albrecht, earned 9 medals out of a possible 24 and came in sixth place of out of 17 schools who participated.

The N.C. Science Olympiad is a non-profit organization whose mission is to attract and retain the pool of K-12 students entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees and careers in North Carolina. Every year, the N.C. Science Olympiad hosts tournaments that are rigorous academic competitions featuring a series of interactive, challenging and inquiry-based events.

“The N.C. Science Olympiad gives students the opportunity to compete with other area students using their skills in problem solving, creative thinking, design and engineering, as well as their knowledge of various topics,” said Mrs. Kingrea. “As a team, we constructed devices to meet specific criteria, and worked together to prepare for different academic challenges.”

The students were thrilled to have done so well in their first N.C. Science Olympiad competition. “I think we defied the odds as a first year Science Olympiad team,” said 8th grader Kevin O’Donnell. “No one expected us to do as well as we did.” Mrs. Kingrea concurs. “I knew the kids had worked had worked hard but wasn’t really expecting to do so well our first year,” she said. “It was very exciting to hear ‘St. Thomas More’ called so many times during the awards ceremony!”

PHOTO: (Front Row L to R): Will Scurria, Kevin O’Donnell, Alyssa Casillas, Gracie Jeffords; (Back Row L to R): Jack Butler, Shane Purner, Jett Pavlica, Krister Sweeney-Centeno, Thomas Bruns. NOT PICTURED: Michael Jones, Jose Barbeito, Ella Shapard and Ryan Clifford.