Science / Math olympiad
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Anonymous
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Our school does not have Science / Math Olympiad. How can my child enroll for these competitions?
Also, why not all schools have these competitions? I think all the kids should have these opportunities. |
Anonymous
| You are asking too much. MCPS is here to close achievements gap, not to increase the gap. |
Anonymous
| I don't know how you enroll for it as an individual not supported by a school. There has to be student AND teacher interest in this. I did math "olympiad" as a kid. It took time and prep on the part of students and teachers. I imagine that there just isn't enough interest. Its similar to the National Geo Bee. At DS's old school there was a lot of interest and they could afford the fees involved. At his new school (this year), they can afford it but there is no interest, even though they have advanced history courses in middle school. |
Anonymous
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Science Olympiad isn't set up to have individual competitors. And have had kids compete in both middle school and high school, I can see that it would be tough to start up at a school. It requires dedicated teachers (at least 2 to 3) willing to spent lots of time and energy. And, in the case of middle school in particularly, lots of parent coaches for individual events.
In a usual year, there are something like 15 student members of a school team (sometimes there are 2 or 3 teams at the school), competing collectively in 23 events (subjects). Each kid ends up competing intensively in 3-4 events throughout the school year. By high school, it's possible for students to coach these events, but that means you need a cohort of 15-30 very dedicated students willing to make this a primary extracurricular. (And while teachers may not need to be doing quite as much hands-on coaching at this point, they are still very involved.) |
Anonymous
Are you a private school parent? |
Anonymous
| If your school doesn't have it, your kid (and other kids) should ask the principal if they can start a team. Maybe if you are lucky the principal will then try and find a teacher sponsor. In my kids' MS principal would not allow parents to be the adult sponsor. |
Anonymous
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My brother was very involved with Science Olympiad in another state. Their team won the state competition multiple times so I know a little about it.
You basically cannot have a Science Olympiad team without a HIGH level of parent (or other community volunteer) involvement. The parents act as coaches for the kids. Ideally, the parents have to have a science or tech background in order to really be of help to the kids. The team also needs to be able to fundraise to support the supplies and travel. I suspect the truth is that schools that do not have parents who are in STEM fields AND have some extra time on their hands are just not able to have a Science Olympiad team. I think it would be a great thing for a corporate sponsorship, though, with some of the area tech companies. This is the sort of thing that a empty-nester professional at one of these companies might really enjoy, especially if it helps under-served kids get access to these fields. My brother's team had a grandfather of one of the kids that was a retiree from a major tech company that was really instrumental in coaching the kids as a volunteer activity in his retirement. That team was from a very mixed-income school and most of the kids did not have any family members involved in science/tech fields. |
Anonymous
| You and your kids should find out if there is actual interest at your school. If so, talk with your principal and PTSA. While its great to have enrichment opportunities, the reality is that there has to be someone(teachers, parents, community members) that are willing to sponsor and be dedicated to them. Many teachers are already sponsoring and participating in other activities. Which means its on parents and the community. I suppose MCPS could pay for someone or some organization to be the coaches and cover fees, but then why would Math/Science olympiad be paid for over say Ballet or Foreign Language club. Ultimately each school is using its limited budget to support things where interest has been shown. And even for some of those the school has applied for and received a grant. |
Anonymous
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Science Olympiad is a team, so your kid can’t do it by themself. The school would need to run it.
Math Olympiad is individual but the school administers the tests. At our schools the kids do multiple tests per year, so, not sure you can jump in for this school year (even if you figure out how) because most of the tests have been taken. Your best bet is probably to figure out how to set up a program (MO would be easier) at your school for next year and contact the principal and volunteer to coordinate/run it. In our district, each school has a specialist dedicated to gifted programs who runs these and the other competitions (geo/spelling/history/calcusolve) and does pull outs for advanced kids. |
Anonymous
yeah, yeah. |
Anonymous
| Or you could look into something like destination imagination. |
Anonymous
| Have your child start a club. They’ll need a staff member to sponsor it. |
Anonymous
I hope you realize that college admissions knows your kids only do that stuff because you force them |
Anonymous
Nope, that’s your lazy kid. My kid likes math and science. And yes, I’m sure my son has a going to include his elementary school MO wins on his college apps. 
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Anonymous
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Try AoPS if your kid is interested in math competitions.
My math-loving kid doesn’t do Olympiad but loves the competitive nature of Alcumus. AoPs was recommended on here and has been a lifesaver during Distance Learning. |