Bronxville Middle School Students Shine at Regional Science Olympiad

Nineteen dedicated students from Bronxville Middle School’s Science Olympiad team showcased their problem-solving skills and creativity at the highly competitive regional competition, held at Scarsdale Middle School on March 1. Competing against 39 teams from 21 schools, the Bronxville students took on 20 STEAM-based challenges – demonstrating their mastery of engineering, physics, chemistry and meteorology. 

Under the guidance of science teacher and club adviser Jean Windels, who has led the team for 18 years, the students spent months preparing for the competition, building egg-carrying cars, constructing balsa wood towers and perfecting ping pong ball launchers. They earned top rankings in various categories. 

•    Lucas Gonzalez-Asturias and Ariel Agrawal – fourth place, Egg-Carrying Cars. 
•    Leo Green and Leo Seaton – fifth place, Egg-Carrying Cars.
•    Adele Zichello and Marie Sato – 10th place, Metric mastery; ninth place, Balsa Wood Tower; and eighth place, Meteorology. 
•    Michael Girimonti – seventh place, Reach for the Stars (astronomy). 
•    Julia Manzan and Portia Tronni – first place, Write it/Do it, which required one person to write directions to build an unusually shaped object while their team member used those directions to build it. 

“The competition provides students the opportunity to engage in real STEM activities,” said Windels, who emphasized that she provides students with the freedom to decide which events they’d like to compete in. “Winning is exciting, but what matters is the students’ ability to problem-solve on the fly, work with new tools, learn new concepts and persevere through challenges.”