One coach of the defending state champion Science Olympiad squad at Daniel Wright Junior High likes to assert her own opinion when people try to say the competition must not be challenging if students at the Lincolnshire school have won it six times.
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“The competition in Illinois, it’s probably grown to be the strongest in the country,” said Mary Ellen Buckley, one of the four coaches of the six-time-defending state champions. “We worked very hard for this.”
This weekend, the team of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders will drive to Wisconsin for the national tournament. Admission to the finals has become a regular occurrence for the crew, which on April 16 conquered the state championship at the University of Illinois at Urbana — Champaign.
“We’re ecstatic,” Buckley said.
Science Olympiad competitions involve a series of paper-and-pencil tests, on-site construction of structures and a variety of other mental competitions.
The 23 categories in the tournament this year will have students building bridges that weigh little but can support a lot, doing meteorology and anatomy, including analyzing an X-ray to determine broken bones and what is susceptible to disease, Buckley said. Students also will do astronomy and the science of police work in crime-scene investigations.
“It’s extremely in-depth what they learn, but these kids, they love it,” Buckley said.
The team at Daniel Wright has 32 members this year, she said. Members also will join a host of Daniel Wright alumni at the championship site at the University of Wisconsin — Stout since Stevenson High School is competing again in the high school division.
Since getting involved with the junior high club, Buckley, a retired Daniel Wright science teacher, has seen many of her graduates stay with Science Olympiad for years.
“It’s great to see them learning how to give back,” she said. “When I started, I had no idea what I was getting involved in, but I learned right along with the kids.”
The group is also coached by Nan Buckardt, Laura Coirier and Janet Lyman — who Buckley credited as the one “who holds it all together.”
“He nickname is Wonder Woman,” Buckley said.
Last month, the Daniel Wright team won the Illinois title by defeating Marie Murphy School in Wilmette. Despite success at the state level, the Daniel Wright squad has not won a national tournament in the past six years.
The group took second place in the nation in 2013 and finished third in 2014. Buckley spoke boldly about the current team’s chances of bringing the title to Lincolnshire.
“Without a doubt,” she said. “From day one, that’s been our goal.”
Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer