Fifth grade students from Clanton Intermediate School excelled on the state level, as the school’s Science Olympiad squad took home first place overall in the Elementary Science Olympiad competition.

The competition, held at Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Ala., consists of 28 events from various scientific disciplines that encouraged teamwork, learning participation and fun.

The win was the first overall title for Clanton Intermediate, and coach Trisha Karn said she was proud of the team’s effort.

“The first day we worked together all day as a team, I knew they were a special group,” she said. “Each group stayed focused on their event and would look for more material to study. They researched, made flashcards, and made online games to help them study.”

Karn said the team’s effort to improve was something she didn’t have to teach.

“It was pretty much that way at every after school practice,” she said. “This group is definitely competitive, and that competitive spirit inspired them to work hard and continue searching for more material to study to better prepare them for the challenge they would face at Science Olympiad.”

The team’s hard work came from building off previous teams’ success, Karn said.

“This is our fourth year to compete in the Jacksonville Science Olympiad,” she said. “Our first year we finished fourth overall, our second year we finished third overall, last year we finished second overall, so we challenged this year’s group (24 students) to work hard and continue the pattern. They did not disappoint obviously with us taking the first place overall team trophy.”

The team was selected based on a number of criteria, including grades, ACT Aspire scores and Global Scholar scores, teacher recommendations and ability to handle the work load, Karn said.

“Once we as teachers have that broad list of students, we have to narrow it down based on teacher recommendation, a genuine interest on the students to participate in science and math events, students who will be able to handle the extra work load and if certain students have skills that will help us on specific events,” she said. “Once the team was chosen, we discuss the events with the students and they list the events they are most interested in and we try to match students to events that they think they will enjoy and do well in.”

Once the team was selected, preparing for the overall competition—as well the individual events in the competition—started in early December.

“There are many different type of events including weather, the human body, studying animal tracks, logic puzzles, music, plants, spelling, the ocean, reading a map, geometrics, nutrition, space, modern scientists, reading a compass and elements,” she said. “There are also events where students have to make something at the competition such as Mystery Architecture, Crash Landing, Quick Sketch, Write It-Do It, Bridge Building. We made a parachute and a pastamobile at school and took those to the competition. Students study for the events during (a given) time at school, before school or after school weekly practices. They are also expected to study on their own at home.”

The team took home five first-place finishes in individual competition on its way to taking the championship trophy.

Karn said the effort the team put into taking first place stood out to her, and she said the effort put in by the students—as well as fellow team teacher Brooke Sullivan—left an impact on her.

“I have been coaching the Science Olympiad team here at Clanton Intermediate for 14 years,” she said. “I think it is a great opportunity for students to work with others in preparing for specific events and then being given the opportunity to see how they compare when competing against about 30 other schools from across Alabama. This is a special group of kids.”