The Science Olympiad is a club at SWHS where students interested in STEM fields come together to prepare for large science competitions. Throughout the year, there are three invitationals and one state competition. On November 18th, the team visited Cornell University to compete and showcase their abilities.
The Science Olympiad has been running at SWHS for almost 20 years. It is led by SWHS science teacher, Mr. Joshua Kraus, who has helped with coaching for 18 years and has been head coach for six. It’s also assisted by Jerome Arunkumar, team captain.
“I see my role as a head coach as forming a vision for the team. What I mean by this is that we have a competitive team just like a competitive sports team, and I am trying to create opportunities for students to explore science in a motivating and exciting way,” Mr. Kraus told The Prowl.
We have a competitive team just like a competitive sports team, and I am trying to create opportunities for students to explore science in a motivating and exciting way.
— Mr. Kraus
The team meets every Thursday, however many members stay after school multiple days a week to work on the club due to their dedication. 30 team members in the club are chosen based on their participation and effort at meetings and outside of school, where they will then go to competitions.
“This is my second year on the team. Aside from being an assistant team captain, I participate in three events: anatomy and physiology, microbe mission, and scrambler,” a member of the club, junior Smriti Rajan explained.
The club not only provides an outlet for South Windsor High School students to create a community centered around a common interest. It provides students with opportunities to grow their knowledge in an educational environment.
“The team is off to a good start this year. There is a great deal of enthusiasm and participation now it all needs to get put together to find the greatest success we can at the end of the season. It is all about growth, and learning. We need to put in the work to find success and hopefully we have fun along the way,” Kraus commented.
At their most recent invitational, the team came out with one fourth place medal and several people on the team placed top ten in their events. SWHS wishes good luck to the team and their future competitions.
