Chandler Woods Science Olympiad Team Filled with Exceptional Competitors, Caring Teammates
The whole premise behind a Science Olympiad competition is to test the knowledge, abilities, and skills of the students. Think of it as an academic track meet, where students compete in different events, often in small groups. The team at Chandler Woods Charter Academy is taking that a step further.
The team, led by Seventh and Eighth Grade Science Teacher Stephanie Oostdyk, has been tallying up great performances and individual wins throughout the season, and is preparing for state competition on April 22 at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
“This team shares an incredible bond,” Oostdyk said. “They have so much team spirit and genuine friendship among them. It’s definitely one of the closest teams I’ve coached. I looked behind me at the award ceremony at regionals and there was a whole line of girls holding hands to wish each other good luck for each event. They were filled with anticipation and excitement for one another.”
An added bonus is to see the friendships being built between the different age groups; sixth graders forming friendships with eighth graders, and vice versa.
“They’re not limited by what grade they’re in or what events they compete in; they genuinely care about each other and want the team to see success,” she said.
Oostdyk said there are always some events that go better than expected and some that don’t, but they keep working to improve their outcomes before each event. The team was elated to finish in first place at the Allendale Invitational in February.
“We have never won that one and we beat some teams from big schools (Grand Haven, Hudsonville, Allendale) that we’ve never beat before,” she said. “We got the best overall point score in Chandler Woods history. We were hoping to do it again at regionals but fell short to Forest Hills and Grand Haven.”
They still qualified for state, which is their next focus.
“This team definitely has the potential to be our best yet. The Chandler Woods record is 10th at state in 2019. My students feel super motivated to do well and I think they can do it if they keep up the hard work. We’ve had a long season (October to April) so it’s easy to feel that Spring Break or end-of-year anticipation and slow down the studying, but they’ll keep with it.”
This year’s team has another distinction – they filled up the trophy case. Their trophies from the Allendale Invitational and regionals won’t fit with their other awards, so a corporate donation has been accepted, along with school board funds, to purchase a new, larger trophy case.
Keep up the excellent preparations, Chandler Woods, and good luck at state!