Three STEM Students from John Bowne High School in Flushing took home first place medals last week at the New York City Regional Science Olympiad held at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood.
On Feb. 2, 71 teams from 42 high schools across the five boroughs competed in 25 different STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) events at Grover Cleveland High School, located at 2127 Himrod St.
Students participated in events such as Boomilever, Mission Possible, Mousetrap Vehicle, Sounds of Music and Wright Stuff. Medals were won by the top 10 finishers in each event.
Students from John Bowne — located at 63-25 Main St. — won first place competing against Stuyvesant and Bronx High School of Science in the Experimental Design Event, where they are required to design and execute an experiment to best answer the inquiry given in a timed session.
This year’s surprise theme was “Peripheral Vision.” Teams were given an allotted time to create a problem, test a hypothesis and analyze the data related to testing one’s peripheral vision.
Kai Jie Lin, a sophomore in the STEM program at John Bowne, placed seventh in the competition titled Mission Possible. Lin built a device that was set in motion by the dropping of a ping-pong ball that landed on a lever causing a series of additional actions that ended with the raising of a platform.
“The students worked with teachers who served as coaches after school almost daily preparing for the competition. Part of their success was due to their commitment before the day of the competition, the rest was due to knowledge and creativity,” said Felicia Bifulco, assistant principal of STEM at John Bowne.
“Being on the team has been an experience I can apply to real life. It encouraged me to face challenges and the true meaning of teamwork,” said Phoebe-Anna Ocasio, a senior in the STEM Program and Science Olympiad Team. “I’m privileged to be at Bowne and get this opportunity. It has also helped build important values like integrity.”
Principal of John Bowne High School, Dr. Izzo-Iannelli, expressed joy at the team’s win.
“I am very proud of the accomplishments and achievements of our students at the 2019 Science Olympiad,” said Iannelli. “The dedication and perseverance of our students and staff is second to none. They did a terrific job! We look forward to competing again next year.”
Meanwhile, Grover Cleveland students Emily Liu, Rania Taib, and Nicole Potaczala, clinched the highest third in the city in Dynamic Planet and Geologic Mapping. The Cleveland Tigers won 10th and ninth place citywide in the Duct Tape Challenge thanks to students Bishan Rayamajj, Kenny Lin, Shafiqur Khan and Pranesh Ojha. The team constructed duct vehicles that traveled a significant distance.
“We tried our best and the fun part of the competition was getting to know our teammates, working with them, and of course, participating in the Science Olympiad,” said Dishan Rayamajhi, a senior in the Grover Cleveland Science Olympiad Team.
Krishna Mahabir, head coach of the Grover Cleveland Science Olympiad Team, said the “competition brings students from diverse backgrounds, converging into one common goal of excellence in STEM.”
Stuyvesant High School took first place overall, followed by Staten Island Tech and Townsend Harris High School. The top eight teams will advance to the New York State Science Olympiad March 15 and 16 at Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY.
