Members of the SFHS Science Olympiad participated in the UGA regional Science Olympiad competition the weekend of Saturday, February 24th. Science Olympiad is a nationally recognized team science competition that enhances science education and interest. This was the third annual regional tournament that UGA has hosted. 23 teams from all over the region came to UGA to compete in the competition. Georgia has one of the largest programs in the nation, which creates a highly competitive program. Middle and high school teams of up to 15 can compete in 23 different events.

The teacher sponsor for South’s team, Chris Webb explained, “We have 23 different events that they compete in. Some of those are build events, where they have to build something to compete. Others are more paper and pencil types of events, where they will have a test they are given on a subject like ecology or forensics. Then some of the events have a combination of both tests and hands on activities.”

The South Forsyth team meets weekly, Wednesdays after school until 5. They spend their time preparing for upcoming competitions by building helicopters and towers, taking practice tests, or practicing labs; which all serve a role in the many different events. All the events focus on a separate topic in science, such as forensics, robotics, ecology, or biology, etc. Chris Webb, and the parent volunteer, Amy Chisam, work together to prepare the students as best they can for the competitions throughout the year.

One aspect that makes South’s team so unique from any other team is that they all work together as one group. They don’t point out students who perform better or worse than others. Instead, they focus on improving as a group and working together to the best of their ability.

“We don’t really like to point people out as being at the top of what we consider the best. We work together and try to give everyone an equal chance to succeed,” said Webb.

South Forsyth placed second overall, after Duluth High School. This win was a significant accomplishment for all involved. Our school’s top placement earned the team a spot at the State Science Olympiad competition. The state competition was held at Emory University on March 31st. South competed to the best of its ability and managed to place in the top 20 respectively. The team is very proud of all their accomplishments this year. They will continue to work on growing and improving for next year’s competitions.