Students involved in Science Team study and take test for fun. While most clubs involve staying after school, members of Science Team spend time not only at after school meetings taking tests, but at home studying.

Meeting twice a month after school, members take 40 minute practice tests of different school subjects such as biology, physics, chemistry, math, computer science, engineering/graphics, and even English. This is all preparation for the Regionals, Sectionals, and State competitions, John Chen, sophomore member, said.

While it is his first year on Science Team, Chen tied for first place in the biology bracket with Chad Oliver, junior, at Regionals. The students’ achievement qualifies them for Sectionals which will take place on March 7th.

“Last year I took biology honors and before that I really had no knowledge or interest in science,” Chen said. “After freshman year I realized I really like biology and I can improve on it. I thought if I joined Science Team I could probably learn a lot more and compete against other people as well. I thought it was a good opportunity to improve.“

Although Chen admits that studying for these tests adds to the normal load of school work, involvement on Science Team is still helpful in developing students’ interests.

“[Being on Science Team] provides us with an opportunity to show what we learned and what we are interested in,” Chen said. “We get to compete and that motivates us to study and gain even more knowledge on different topics.”

Oliver agrees how Science Team is helpful to learning more, as he is currently in AP Chem, so studying for AP chemistry and Science team both go hand in hand. The studying helped him place at Regionals and advance to Sectionals for both Biology and Chemistry.

“It’s exciting, you’ve practiced for several months leading up to them so you feel optimistic but you never know what questions may be on the tests,” Oliver said. “Once you take the tests, they are graded fairly quickly with scantron [for] the awards ceremony. There are awards for the top scorers in each subject as well as awards for top scorers from each school. Those who get first or second place in one of their subjects at Regionals advance to Sectionals, which is coming up on March 6. Some of my teammates and I will be competing then, and if we do well at Sectionals, we’ll advance to the State Finals in April.”