EAGLE ROCK ELEMENTARY STUDENTS GET A GOLD STAR IN SCIENCE OLYMPIAD: Students show off their science skills at the annual event hosted by Occidental College.

By Vicki Gonzalez | Eagle Rock Patch | http://bit.ly/eOHiAJ

10 March 2011 - It’s the closest thing to a track meet—some 2,000 K-12 students grouped into 15-person teams trying to outdo each other in everything from designing a mousetrap or protein-cell model to solving a crime using forensic tools and analyzing satellite images.

Not many LAUSD schools participate in the Science Olympiad, held annually in Los Angeles, but Eagle Rock Elementary School and Gifted Magnet is one the regulars at the tournament. And its students won yet another gold medal at the 25^th annual Science Olympiad, held Feb. 26 at Occidental College.

More than 100 public and private schools competed in the daylong science track meet, which consisted of 60 events in three divisions—elementary, middle and high school.

Because some of the contests involve a written test, Eagle Rock Elementary students not only showed up with trivia-filled minds but with contraptions in hand. They started cramming for the written test in December.

“It is fun because you get to compete with other schools and at the end you get a medal,” said Erin Crouchley, who competed at the 4^th-grade level for the first time, along with two of her Eagle Rock Elementary comrades—Arianna Mah-Camdelaria and Rachel Tokofsky.

“In the last six years we have ranked within the top three places,” said Alicia Stanco, who teaches the 5^th grade magnet program at Eagle Rock Elementary.

Still, despite another gold medal victory this year, winning isn’t the school’s priority. As Stanco put it: “Not only is [the Olympaid] a confidence builder, it’s an interest builder because it’s hands-on and students get to explore a number of concepts in real life.”

"The Science Olympiad is very hectic, fun, and festive," Gary Widdison, the tournament’s co-director said in a released statement. "We cannot have a robust science investigation unless we teach kids that science is more than just a body of knowledge. It's about using what we learn to solve problems."

Winning teams from each division will go on to the state tournament, and potentially the national tournament at the University of Wisconsin this coming May.

Stanco credits the community of Eagle Rock to the school’s continued success. “I love the fact that the students care so much about what they are learning,” she said. “And I love that I have so much parent involvement to make ideal conditions for students to learn in the most interesting and fun way.”