Science Olympiad 2013
A real scientist and his dad
We spent our usual April Saturday at Pioneer High School competing and volunteering at the largest elementary school Science Olympiad in the country. This year, there were 26 elementary schools for a total of 1700 students (more or less). All the Ann Arbor public elementary schools were represented this year, as well as some private schools, and even a group of home-schoolers. The teams ranged from 100 students to some with only a few.
K did outstanding this year as always. He took second place medals in:
* Science Jeopardy, where they play a game with buzzers, answering with questions, and Final Jeopardy,
* To Infinity and Beyond, an event covering astronomy, complete with a planetarium dome test (there's a planetarium inside Pioneer!), and
* On Target, in which the students create small missiles from drinking straws, paper, and clay, and then launch them with a small forced-air plunger. Their goal is to land their missiles as close to a set target as possible.
This year, I was one of the head coaches at Lawton (there are four of us), and while we all put in long hours with it, it was rewarding and fun. Any difficulties and frustrations we might have felt with all the administration and organization usually fade into distant memory when we watch the students taking medals and thanking their coaches for their hard work. We are fortunate to have so many great parents to coach the events. Many of them are learning the subject matter for the first time themselves, and most of them already have full-time jobs and other lives outside of Science Olympiad. The school is lucky to have them, and as many families move on to middle school, we can already see the next waves of parents ready to take their places.
M and I volunteered at the academic check-in and events area, where I have volunteered and helped coordinate for the last four years. I did the coordination myself for two years, and the organization provided another coordinator, Karen, last year (is there such a word as co-coordinator?). This year, Karen returned to co-coordinate again, and we added another outstanding "key" volunteer, Jennifer, so we could cover all the ground without breaking a sweat. I guess that makes Jennifer the co-co-coordinator. Karen and Jennifer will run the show, perhaps with someone else's help, next year, as this is my last year with a student in elementary school.
It's bittersweet - I did enjoy a lot of the aspects of Science Olympiad, and the amazing work of its Board, but there are also plenty of new opportunities to be found in middle and high school in the coming years.
Raise a glass to Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad. Cheers!
A whole buncha scientists, at the afternoon awards ceremony.
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When M isn't practicing for his own Science Olympiad competition for middle school, he's either helping me run students up and down stairs at Pioneer, or playing flag football. His team had mixed success this year, and didn't make it through the playoffs to the final game. At the brief recognition ceremony the coach conducted, he said M had consistently the best hands of anyone on the team. He had numerous tackles, catches, and other great plays this season. It was a season that was overshadowed a few times by other big events, but he enjoyed it.
And, just as with the elementary Science Olympiad, this will likely be M's last year with flag football. On to bigger things!
M is in the back row, far right
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What else? It's been a long time since I've posted anything, partly because I've been so busy with Science Olympiad. I've read a few books, travelled to Pittsburgh with the family to see J's grandmother on her 99th birthday, and watched some of M's volleyball games (did I mention M is playing volleyball for his middle school team?).
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Last, but not least, J and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on April 3, which just so happens to be her grandmother's birthday. We had a joint celebration in Pittsburgh, and are going to plan a romantic getaway for two sometime in the summer when we actually have some time to do so.
20 years? Wow. It's been a great 20 years, with two great kids, and a wonderful home that, quite honestly, she has a lot more to do with maintaining than I (even though I was the one who got the bird out of the bathroom fan vent this morning.)
I'd post a picture of her, but she'd appreciate it if I don't. It didn't take me 20 years to learn that.
I love you, J.
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