Seminole Ridge Community High School SECME 2011 "Brain Bowl" teamsSeminole Ridge SECME students were fast with physical science facts, math formulas, and most importantly their fingers at Florida International University on Saturday, February 22, 2011 during the Science Bowl.
Science Bowl is an academic competition that offers a chance for teams of high school students from across the state to match their mental abilities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. Teams compete in this fast-paced "jeopardy" style, head-to-head competition, which includes preliminary and double-elimination matches. In this competition students answer either multiple-choice or short-answer questions relating to science and math facts or concepts.
Seminole Ridge sent two of the twenty-five teams from south Florida that competed in six division during the round robin regional qualifiers. The Seminole SECME silver team consisted of Captain Edwin Keo (senior), Arnold Banner (senior), Justin Bishop (senior), John Gonzalaz (senior), David Lopez (senior) and CJ Galko (junior). The Ridge's red team consisted or Captain Robert Botkin (junior), Caitlin Miller (junior), Duncan Miller (senior), Joe Pavicic (senior) and Yiro Shimabakuro (senior).
The Ridge's red team consisted or Captain Robert Botkin (junior), Caitlin Miller (junior), Duncan Miller (senior), Joe Pavicic (senior) and Yiro Shimabakuro (senior).
The Seminole SECME silver team consisted of Captain Edwin Keo (senior), Arnold Banner (senior), Justin Bishop (senior), John Gonzalaz (senior), David Lopez (senior) and CJ Galko (junior).This year, the silver Hawks after correctly answering rapid-fire questions in several disciplines--physics, math, astronomy, biology, chemistry, energy and earth sciences-- to advance to the double elimination bracket with three wins and two losses during the round robin. In playoffs they first fell to Miami Palmetto Senior High School (Miami, FL), 147-46, then were overcome by challenger Cypress Bay High School (Weston, FL) by a score of 156-38
More than 15,000 students across the U.S. vie for a trip to Washington, D.C. to compete at the National Science Bowl hosted by the United States Department of Energy on May 2nd. Only 520 make it. Even the students who don't earn a trip to the finals agree that competing in the Science Bowl bolsters their understanding and their outlook.
Captain Keo said, "We did pretty well in the competition. We managed to get into the double elimination, and our 8th match/round was our absolute loss!" He thinks his team did a good job and commented, "We all had our share of Fail moments." CJ Galko agreed, "We did a lot better than I thought we would and it was a lot of fun."
Seminole Ridge Community High School SECME "Brain Bowl" teamEven President Obama and the First Lady have caught the enthusiasm for the Science Bowl. Mikayla Nelson, a high school freshman from Billings, Mont., sat with First Lady Michelle Obama at this year's State of the Union Address. Nelson earned her place there by leading her team to a first place finish at the National Middle School Science Bowl for the design document of the team's solar car. The President also noted in his address to the country that, "We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair…"
Congratulations to Osmel Rodriguez and American Heritage School for winning the South Florida Regional 2011! And here's a clip of former Physics Bowl members struggling with some social science questions, courtesy of CBS's The Big Bang Theory.
