RCMS Science Olympiad team placed fourth at the Virginia State Tournament on March 25 at UVA by achieving 12 individual medals.

 “I looked at the websites that were given to us and did a lot of practice tests.” Neha Ranjith, an eighth-grader on the Discovery team, said “I feel like I was adequately prepared.”

Students were given starter packs and practice tests to study for their given events. Students would meet with their partners to practice for their given event.

“I spent a lot of time meeting with my partners,” Dalton Sheng, a seventh-grader on the Majestics team, “I prepared for each event differently.” 

Students participated in events that were either Lab’s where you do science experiments, Core Knowledge events which is a written test, Build events which is when you have a limited amount of time to build an object to do certain tasks or a hybrid where its a mix between tests and build.

“I had spent a lot of time on my Sounds of Music project,” said Neha Ranjith, an eighth-grader on the Discovery team.  

In this event, teams must construct and tune one device prior to the tournament based on a one-octave 12-tone equal tempered scale and complete a written test on the physics of sound and music concepts. This event is a hybrid event and takes countless hours to build the instrument and study for the test.

“I had spent a lot of time studying for the test, but did not prioritize building the instrument enough,” Neha Ranjith, an eighth-grader on the Discovery team, “This proved to show as we were confident with the test but struggled with the instrument.”

“Half the time I felt stressed, half the time I felt relieved because I didn’t know how I did, ” Matthew Peng, an eighth-grader on the Discovery team, said after the tournament.

Trial events are events that Science Olympiad offers to figure out new events for future years. Trial events also provide four extra spots on your team. This makes 19 total people on the team.

Arjun Garg, eighth grader on the Discovery team said, “I would recommend trying it out because it gives you a good experience with all kinds of science labs and tests.”

The team participated in many events and won medals in: 

• 1st Place – Fast Facts
• 2nd Place – Codebusters
• 2nd Place – Solar System
• 3rd Place – Crave the Wave
• 4th Place – Dynamic Planet
• 4th Place – Flight
• 4th Place – Road Scholar
• 4th Place – Sounds of Music
• 5th Place – Botany
• 5th Place – Solar Power
• 6th Place – Rocks and Minerals
• 6th Place – Write it Do it

Raj Rai, coach of the RCMS Science Olympiad team said, “I felt very satisfied by how much focus and effort students put during the tournament.”