Forty-five Muirlands Students participated in the San Diego Regional Science Olympiad Competition on

Principal Klein with a some of the Muirlands Participants

Saturday, February 7th was a fantastic day for science and fun as 45 Muirlands students were among 117 teams and 1,300+ students that competed in the San Diego Regional Science Olympiad. Congratulations to all students, coaches and parents for their commitment and determination, and for representing our Muirlands Community so well.

Many school teams that win the top spots are comprised of students who take a course at school that prepares them for the Science Olympiad Competition. The Muirlands Team, however, is an after-school club that is open to all students and this year was coached by volunteer parents and community members with expertise in the sciences. Muirlands students signed up for the club and studied outside of school hours from September through January. The San Diego event is the largest by far in this prestigious competition. Winning teams typically move on and do well in the National Science Olympiad.

Volunteer club organizer Laura Jackson said: “We should all be extremely proud of Muirlands’ results. Considering that this is just our second time back at the competition, the size of the event, the competition we faced, and the daunting idea of defeating some of the top national teams, this is a truly wonderful result. Beating any of these experienced teams is a truly huge achievement!” Muirlands Middle School and Muirlands Foundation applauds and is grateful to Laura who worked tirelessly to recruit coaches, coached students herself, organized schedules, registered the students, arranged study opportunities, and overcame many hurdles to help Muirlands students participate in this tremendous experience.

Laura Jackson remarked “I trust that this experience will have a lasting impact on everyone that was part of this team. Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. What matters most is all the learning and progress we all made in this process of discovery. If we were able to plant the a seed of interest and open the doors of curiosity for these students, then I say we are all winners.”

Following are the 2014-15 Muirlands Science Olympiad results:

4th place medal:

“Wheeled Vehicle” - Ben Duong and Sabrina Duong

Coaches: Bill Hagey & Dr. Bill Frederick

7th place medal:

“Crime Busters” - Ben Duong and Sabrina Duong

Coach: Genevieve Frederick

10th place medal:

“Fossils”- Travis Wang and Austin Kingston

Coach: Marcia Halpern (7th grade Muirlands Teacher)

16th place:

“Bioprocesses Lab” - Eric Zhou and Bohan Chen