GCHS team places 16th at state Science Olympiad competition
by Mary Rice
cContributing Writer
Apr 25, 2013 | 1028 views | 0 0 comments | 10 10 recommendations | email to a friend | print


The GCHS Science Olympiad team finished 16th among 31 teams and was the top-ranked 2A Region team at the state finals held at the University of Utah earlier this month. This year marks the fifth season of competition for Grand’s Science Olympiad team.

The competition is divided into two categories: tests, which two partners work on together and complete some physical demonstration or experiment, and labs or building projects, which can have more participants.

In the testing division, GCHS juniors Deanna Irvine and Jasmine Swink placed 10th in Remote Sensing, while freshman Annie Heywood and sophomore Rebecca Minor took sixth-place in Rocks and Minerals. In the lab events, juniors Nat Smith and Alex Sorensen placed sixth in Chemistry Lab, and Smith and junior Jacob Francis placed ninth in Technical Problem Solving. In the Experimental Design category, Smith, Francis, and freshman Cody Jones placed eighth overall.

Adviser Laura Reed said that despite the fierce competition from larger schools at the event, Grand’s team members still held their own. Davis, a 5A school, took home the top honors, followed by several college-preparatory schools, including the Utah County Academy of Science, all of which were much larger than Grand.

“I think we’re going to work even harder and shoot for top 10 next year,” said Reed.

Reed extended an open invitation to any students wishing to participate in Science Olympiad in future years. Winning students in each event are awarded cash scholarships, and the top three competitors at the competition are awarded full scholarships to various Utah schools, including Westminster College and the University of Utah.

“We are open to all students, freshmen through senior years. They’re more than welcome, and we’ll be starting up next year in October to get ready for state. Once again, we’d just like to say that everyone is welcome to join.”

Share This Article |

Copyright 2013 The Times-Independent. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

report abuse...

Express yourself:

We're glad to give readers a forum to express their points of view on issues important to this community. That forum is the “Letters to the Editor.” Letters to the editor may be submitted directly to The Times-Independent through this link and will be published in the print edition of the newspaper. All letters must be the original work of the letter writer – form letters will not be accepted. All letters must include the actual first and last name of the letter writer, the writer’s address, city and state and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be accepted.

Letters may not exceed 400 words in length, must be regarding issues of general interest to the community, and may not include personal attacks, offensive language, ethnic or racial slurs, or attacks on personal or religious beliefs. Letters should focus on a single issue. Letters that proselytize or focus on theological debates will not be published. During political campaigns, The Times-Independent will not publish letters supporting or opposing any local candidate. Thank you letters are generally not accepted for publication unless the letter has a public purpose. Thank you letters dealing with private matters that compliment or complain about a business or individual will not be published. Nor will letters listing the names of individuals and/or businesses that supported a cause or event. Thank you letters about good Samaritan acts will be considered at the discretion of the newspaper.