Vernon Dentist’s Office, Dr. Jay Family Dental, owned by Dr. Krithika Jayaprakash, has donated $550 to the SWHS Science Olympiad program to help fuel an already phenomenal season.
Dr. Jayaprakash is aware of the needs of the SWHS Science Olympiad team, as her son Nithish Jayaraj is a SWHS student on the team.
“I donated to support the STEM community at South Windsor High School and to encourage students to further explore STEM outside the classroom” Dr. Jayaprakash said.
Jayaprakash wanted to contribute to the cause, as Science Olympiad needs funds for competitions, transportation, food and build materials.
“They [build materials] don’t come cheap,” Jayaraj commented.
Build materials are necessary for competitions that require the team to build structures beforehand and test them during competitions. In previous competitions, the teams have had to build a tower and a launching apparatus. It is important that they have good-quality materials in order for their creations to withstand the test of competitions.
Another important use of funds is for transportation and food. The team often has to travel far for competitions, and therefore they ride in coach buses that SWHS does not fund. During a trip to Columbia High School in East Greenbush, NY, the team had to pay for their own pizza for dinner. Additionally, during their trip to Yale, food was on them.
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The SWHS Science Olympiad team flexes their medals and trophies at States. (SWHS Science Olympiad)
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The SWHS Science Olympiad team gathers in the lobby to celebrate their victory. (SWHS Science Olympiad)
In addition to materials, transportation and food, attending the competitions themselves has a cost. Though Science Olympiad has been actively fundraising all summer, the extra support from Dr. Jay’s dental will help further lower per student costs, allowing more students the opportunity to attend competitions and invitationals. According to one of the captains, Aditya Jha, there has been a record number of students who have had the chance to compete this season.
In fact, Science Olympiad has been on fire this season! They won first and second place at States and will compete in Nationals sometime in late April or May.
“Our coach, our team put in so much dedication, so much work,” Jha said.
After placing 41st last year, Science Olympiad became determined to turn up the heat and try something new. They hosted their own invitational this year, as well as attending four other invitationals throughout the season.
“We gotta do something differently if we want to get better” Jha said, has been the team’s philosophy this season. They are aiming to have their ranking go up and to come home with some medals at nationals this year.
“We went to tons of invitationals, took tons of medals, [and] we hosted an invitational right here at school,” Jha told The Prowl. “So, not just the team, but the Science Olympiad program at SWHS has seen so much growth this year.”
Jha is anticipating a few medals at nationals this year, “not to overestimate or anything,” he said. With the additional funds provided by Dr. Jay’s Dental, as well as their many other donors, and the SWHS Science Olympiad team continuing their hard work, the outlook for nationals is looking better than ever.
