MADISON – Students from Mill Creek Elementary School were shining at the Elementary Science Olympiad 2024 for Division AA at Jacksonville High School.

They secured a fourth-place spot overall and a medal win for each individual student. Mill Creek’s eight-member team competed against 16 schools at the regional Science Olympiad on Feb. 24.

Science Olympiad, a national nonprofit organization, is devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest and recognizing outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. The Elementary Science Olympiad encourages classroom teachers to explore new methods of teaching science.

These tournaments are academic interscholastic competitions with a series of individual and team events. Students prepare during the entire school year.

Science Olympiad events require teamwork, group planning and cooperation. The emphasis is on learning, participation, interaction and having fun.

The late Jackie Smith, Science Olympiad Sponsor and STEM teacher, coordinated students for the meet. Tragically, Ms. Smith recently passed away. Funeral services for Ms. Smith were held on March 23 at Spry Funeral Home in Athens.

Madison students won awards in events featured at the Olympiad during 30-plus years:

* Calculator Contest — John Kowamota, third place.

* Weather or Not — Peter Goosier and David Thomason, first.

* Write It, Do It — Janvi Jinva and Medha Akarapu, fourth.

* Food for Thought — John Kowamota, second.

* Crash Landing — Barrett Mayer and Peter Goosier of Mill Creek in tie for fourth place with Auburn Area Homeschoolers and Margaret Elementary School.

* A Is for Anatomy — Peter Goosier and John Kowamota, third.

* Dinosaurs & Disasters – J.R. Kassamma and Medha Akarapu, first.

* Geometrics — John Kowamota and Peter Goosier, second.

* Going Green — Janvi Jinva and David Thomason, first.

* Infographics — Barrett Mayer and Medha Akarapu, second.

* Space Invaders — Lawrence Reed, second.

Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to approximately 8,000 teams in all 50 states. In 450-plus tournaments and professional development workshops, the Science Olympiad showcases innovative STEM practices.

For more information, visit soinc.org or esoatjhs.org/awards2024.html.27