Sixth-graders, Tommy Graham and Grant Hennenberger (pictured here with their gold medals) On Saturday, March 6th, students from the Garden City Middle School Science Olympiad Club participated in this year’s Science Olympiad held at C.P. Weber Middle School in Port Washington, New York. Nine students entered twelve events under the guidance of their teacher and coach, Dr. Paris Zaferiou, and 6-12 Science Curriculum Coordinator Dr. Elena Cascio, who also proctored events at the Olympiad.

Three middle school students received specific recognition. Sixth-graders, Tommy Graham and Grant Hennenberger won 1the prize in the “Helicopter” event in which they constructed and tested a free-flight, rubber-band powered helicopter to achieve the competition’s maximum recorded flight time. Another outstanding honor was awarded to sixth-grader Dessier DiMino. Dessier received honorable mention in the “Junkyard Challenge” event where competitors constructed a device to solve the engineering challenge of tripping four mousetraps in sequential order. According to Dr. Zaferiou, “The team had a fantastic time at the event, proving that science can be both fun and educational! They are already planning best year’s event.”

Congratulations to the following student participants for their hard work, dedication, and passion for science:

Aidan Polke (6): Elevated Bridge Building, Meteorology

Tommy Van Noy (6): Meteorlogy, Car of Tomorrow

Stephanie Zaferiou (7): Anatomy, Car of Tomorrow

Jennifer Itty (9): Solar System, Dynamic Planet, Ecology

Claudia Schultz (9): Solar System, Dynamic Planet, Ecology

Brian Sclafani (9): Fossils, Bio-process

Thank you to the ninth-grade students who served as peer leaders to our middle school members for this event. They provided tremendous assistance as well as serving as motivating role models for the younger team members.

Congratulations to all of the participants in this year’s Science Olympiad. Our team members did a wonderful job representing Garden City Public Schools!