INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD
OF
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
AUG. 14, 2015
Barbara Little
Regional, State Director, Science Olympiad
Neelam Chakrabarty
CEO, Oroola
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August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
AGENDA
• History and Background of SO
• Team Formation Requirements
(Div. A)
• SO Divisions
• Coaching
• Tournaments
• Why SO
• NorCal Regions
• Additional SO Resources
• Team Formation Requirements
(Div. B & C)
• Q&A
• A little about Oroola
• Events
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
WHAT IS OROOLA
Find your school and sign up for early access at
www.oroola.com/find
Ever embarrassed that you didn’t know many parents
from your child’s school. And even if you did, how do
you reach out them for help and advice - email,
phone, Facebook?
Oroola is a collaboration platform for parents of K-12
kids where parents can connect with other parents –
from school, classroom, after-school clubs/activities,
in one place
* Connect
* Share
* Collaborate
August 14, 2015
Find recommendations, carpool help, local childrenrelated businesses, events, and helpful resources
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
WHAT IS
SO
SIZE
GOALS
• International non-profit organization
• Tournament driven. First nation-wide tournament held in 1985
• 7,000 secondary schools from 50 states
• 10,000+ elem. schools
• 2015: 298 schools from NorCal, 427 from SoCal
• Improve and promote STEM in K-12
• Provide recognition for student & teacher work
Additional Info:
Membership map
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
DIVISIONS AND GRADES
Div. A
Gr. K-6
Div. B
Gr. 6-9
• Some exceptions permitted
• E.g. K-8 school permitted to form
Div. B team of all 5th graders
• Discretion of coach or tournament
director
• Safety is a concern
Div. C
Gr. 9-12
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TEAM HIERARCHY AND TOURNAMENTS
Regional
State
National
August 14, 2015
• Multiple teams per school
• Multiple schools per region
• Top 4 teams from each region advance to State
• Multiple regions per state
• Top 1 team from each state advances to National
• CA = 2 teams (NorCal and SoCal)
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
NORCAL REGIONS
•
Bay Area Regional Science Olympiad
Region Director: Barbara Little, bayareaso@outlook.com Div. B,C
•
Santa Clara County Science Olympiad
Region Director: Barbara Little, santaclaraso@outlook.com Div. A,B, C
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Sacramento County Science Olympiad
Region Director: James Hill, jdhill@sanjuan.edu
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San Joaquin County Science Olympiad
Region Director: Annie Cunial, acunial@sjcoe.net
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Stanislaus County Science Olympiad
Region Director: Cheryl Goulart, cgoulart@scoe.org
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Fresno County Science Olympiad
Region Director :Jennifer Weibert, jweibert@fcoe.org
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Tulare County Science Olympiad
Region Director: Jared Marr, jaredm@ers.tcoe.org
•
NorCal State Science Olympiad
NorCal State Director: Barbara Little, norcalscioly@outlook.com
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TEAM FORMATION REQUIREMENTS - GENERAL
• All team members MUST BE from the same school
• School Principal MUST Approve Participation & Coach
• District & School Rules & Policies Must Be Followed
• One team member can participate ONLY in one division
• Teams must be registered with their Region
•
CA = NorCal + SoCal
• All teams must pay a national fee through their Region
Additional Info:
State websites | Organizing Teams | Team Registration for SF Bay Area
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Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TEAM FORMATION REQUIREMENTS - DIV. B
• 1 team = 15 members
• Max. five 9th graders in Div. B
• Schools with grades :
• X-9 can only have 5 students from gr. 9
• X-8 can bring back max. 5 students from gr. 9 (from
previous 8th grade enrollment)
• X-7 can bring back max. 5 students from gr. 8 or 9
• X-6 can bring back max. 5 students from gr. 7,8 0r 9
Additional Info
Team membership rules
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TEAM FORMATION REQUIREMENTS - DIV. C
• 1 team = 15 members
• Max. 7 students from 12th grade
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
EVENTS
•
An Event is a category. Eg. Air Trajectory, Bridge Building, Fossils, Oceanography,
Crime Busters, etc.
•
Total 23 Events in each Division. Could change each year
•
Some events are common in B/C events, but Div. C are more advanced than B
•
3 Types of Events
• Build/Engineering – Eg. Bridge Building, Air Trajectory
• Test/Theory – Eg. Oceanography
• Lab – Eg. Crime Busters
•
Each student participates in 1, 2, 3 or 4 events
•
Student can participate in all one type, but recommend to mix it up, for balance
•
A school can participate in all or only some events
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Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
EVENT RULES
• Each event has rules
• They should be strictly adhered too
• Individual Rules manual available upon signing up the team
• Penalized if rules not followed precisely
• Rules clarification obtained from National Sci Oly website
Additional Info
2015 Events | 2016 Events
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Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TEAM FORMATION – DIV. A (NON-COMPETITIVE)
• Currently two tournaments; Santa Clara County & Bay Area
• Don’t have to participate in a tournament – start your own at your school
site
• Continue coaching and practice as per the curriculum through out the
year
• Set up days such as “Don’t bug me” at the playground
• Host a game
• Use ESO content at birthday parties
• End it with a Fun Day for Fun Night at school, inviting scientists,
architects, and other experts
• Buy materials, manuals, etc. from the SO store
Additional Info
Fun Day/Night Manual/DVD in SO store
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TEAM FORMATION – DIV. A (COMPETITIVE)
Can get Gr. 3-6 ready for Div. B
100+ events available, most choose between 10-16 events
Similar to Div. B/C
Form and register a team
Compete against other school teams in Div A.- Requires State Director
Approval
• No National Tournament for ESO
• Sample K-6 events
• A is for Anatomy, Barge Building, Biomass, etc.
• Leverage school PTA for help, support and promotion
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•
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Additional Info
Competitive Tournaments | For PTA | Sample Forms
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Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
IF YOUR SCHOOL DOESN’T HAVE SO TEAM
• Gather a small group of parents who are interested
• Contact the school principal and get their support
• Recruit students for each of the 23 events
• Meet and coach every week
• Participate in Invitational for practice
• School may or may not be able to help you with coaching
• School support can be in form of teacher help in coaching OR
• Help with getting certain supplies OR
• Help with use of school facilities – lab, gym, classroom, etc.
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
COACHING
•
Teams typically start forming at the end of the school year
•
2-3 head coaches (teachers and/or parents) start the process
•
Coaches may qualify individual students based on a try-out test
•
Assignment of events based on performance in try-out or at coach’s discretion
•
Sub-team of 2,3, or more students is formed per event.
•
Each sub-team coached by a parent (Div. B). Div. C may not need a parent coach
•
Head coaches lead/guide the sub-team coaches
•
Head coaches responsible for team registration, liaisoning with SO tournament
director, all the paper work, sending regular updates to parents, etc.
•
Training/Coaching materials are available in Science Olympiad Store
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Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
TIPS ON COACHING
• Gather parents/students, who can commit. It is 7-8 month commitment
• Each event requires about 1-2 hours each week
• Recruiting parents with some domain expertise in STEM helps with
coaching
• Identify student strengths and skills and assign events accordingly
• Students with good memorization skills will do well in Study/Test events
• Students with building skills perform well in Build/Engineering events
• Students should have strong work ethics and be team players
• Be disciplined – fix a schedule and meet every week
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
WHY SHOULD YOU/YOUR CHILD PARTICIPATE
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•
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•
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Improved research, study, and test-taking skills
Camaraderie and support from teammates and coach
Enhanced communication and interpersonal skills
Having fun while learning science
Developing self-discipline and endurance and gaining a greater level of self-esteem
Developing skills for the scientific method of learning and critical thinking skills
Fun
Memorable
Attitude-changing
Read my daughter's personal experience from SO last year
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
UPCOMING EVENT (FREE)
Bay Area Science Festival
At different locations all over the bay area
Oct. 22 to Nov. 15, 2015
• Cal State Hayward Oct. 24th., 2015
• ATT Park, Nov. 5, 2015.
More info at http://www.bayareascience.org/
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS, PARENTS
Student wiki, test exchange, forums, etc.: http://scioly.org/
Membership Map : https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/SO_US_map_15_v1.jpg
SO store. DVDs, manuals, kits, field guides, books, test packet : http://store.soinc.org/default.aspx
More info. on how to prepare : https://www.soinc.org/preparation_tips
Elementary Fun day/night : https://www.soinc.org/fun_day_night
State websites : https://www.soinc.org/state_websites
Organizing Teams - https://www.soinc.org/organizing_team
Team Registration for SF Bay Area: http://www.bayareascioly.com/team-registration-form.html
Team membership rules: https://www.soinc.org/divisions_abc
2015 Events: https://www.soinc.org/2015_event_table
2016 Events: https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/2016Chart6-12-15.pdf
My blog: http://bit.ly/1JPXnJd
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
SUPPORT OROOLA AND SCI. OLY. FOUNDATION
Search your school and sign up your school community on Oroola –
www.oroola.com/find
Like us on Facebook - @Oroola, @ScienceOlympiadAlumniNetwork
Follow us on Twitter - @OroolaEd, @SOAlumniNetwork
Follow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oroola
(or search for Oroola)
August 14, 2015
S
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad
Q&A
August 14, 2015
Intro to the World of Science Olympiad