On Saturday, Apr. 12, Poly hosted the annual Science Olympiad State Tournament in partnership with Caltech, welcoming 30 top schools from across Southern California. Poly’s Upper and Middle schools both competed, with one Upper School team led by Upper School Science Teacher Will Mason and two Middle School teams led by Middle School Science Teacher Raman Mander.
Junior co-captain Sophie Ankeles shared, “All the Science Olympiad topics are really niche and ones that you don’t get to study anywhere else in school. I think Science Olympiad Tournaments are a good team bonding experience because there’s usually no event where you go alone.”
“The main highlight is seeing the progress individual students make,” shared Mander. “We don’t mind too much about whether we win as a team or not compared to other teams; we really care about individual progress and the enjoyment and learning and individual development.”
Poly eighth grader Isaac Lee earned 12th place in the helicopter build event.
Lee noted, “My friends were working on air trajectory, and I enjoyed watching them do it and supporting them.”
Looking forward, junior co-captain Sofia Flores-Castro said, “I would like to have the build events have more people participate and maybe get the Engineering Club involved next year.”