Science Olympiad is a high school and middle school competition in which numerous schools from the United States participate to demonstrate interest and devotion to learning the world of science. The competition offers numerous building events and study events dealing with topics like optics, astronomy, chemistry lab, invasive species, microbe mission, forensics, and robots.
![Science Olympiad Logo [Source: www.juniata.edu]](http://www.jstudentboard.com/reporter/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/9-13-olympia.jpg)
[Source: www.juniata.edu]
Just two years ago, however, Beverly Hills High School did not have a team. Two then sophomores named Jaime and Sophia founded the club in the school and gathered a group of students interested in science in order to start the school’s team. They found support in the school’s chemistry and AP Environmental Science teacher, Ms. Smith, as the sponsor of the club. The co-presidents asked the members to independently prepare with weekly meetings and occasional gatherings for the county competition.
In early 2016, the BHHS SciOly team ended up placing 6th out of 31 teams, a result that made the team qualify for the states. The team did well in state, but not nearly as well as the co-presidents had ambitiously hoped they would do: they did not qualify for the nationals. Following the first year with good results, in the upcoming year, Jaime and Sophia, as juniors, are seeking to improve the team by starting preparations in the summer and requiring more study meetings outside of school hours including weekends. Currently, they are in the process of assigning events to each member of the team for him or her to begin studying. This time, their goal is to place much higher in state to qualify into the next national stage, with even more members than the previous year.
