We have received an update from the Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad. They are transitioning this year's program to be fully virtual. This shift, understandably, comes with some sweeping changes in categories, structure and assessment as compared to past years. Please see below the bullet points on the new structure. In addition, we are in search of a head coach(es) for this season, which is required for our building to participate. The head coach duties are described below. If you are interested, please reach out to Mr. Hilton as soon as possible at hiltonm@aaps.k12.mi.us. The first coach meeting is Dec. 3rd.
Science Olympiad 2021 Event Format:
- Events will be monthly from Jan-March.
- Events will be student self-directed and include a combination of hands-on activities, recorded content, and assessment. They will include the use of common household items, and encourage student investigation and observation.
- Student work will be recorded and submitted to the school's head coach for credit.
- Monthly themes will be complied from past and current WESO events such as "health Sciences" and "Back to Nature."
- In order to participate students must have access to a device, internet, and a google email. Assessment will be given using Pear Deck.
- Any student at a participating school grades 2-5 may participate in 1-5 months of the program.
- Assessment will be given the last Saturday of every month Jan-June. Tests will combine grades 2, 3 and 4, 5. The number of questions on each assessment will vary and tests for grades 2 and 3 will last approximately 20 minutes and tests for grades 4 and 5 will last approximately 30 minutes.
Science Olympiad Head Coach Responsibilities:
- Information Distribution
- Disseminating information from the WESO Board to participating students;
- Maintaining a list of which students are participating each month; and
- Acting as the one point of contact between the WESO Board and participating students and their families. Since we won't be utilizing event coaches for this year's Olympiad, we invite the school head coach to recruit others as "monthly event liaisons" to assist with any questions, the collection and review of assessments, and the distribution of awards.
- Materials
- Distributing WESO supplies to students participating in each monthly theme as needed; and
- Assessing the needs of individual students. It is important that WESO 2021 is as accessible to as many students as possible. As Head Coach we will ask that you communicate to the WESO Board any potential barriers to participation that individual students in your school might face. This includes access to devices, internet bandwidth, and materials for hands-on activities.
- Collecting REQUIRED permission slips for participation from all students' parents and keeping records up to date.
- Accessibility for Students
- If any participating students require accommodations or supplies - we ask the head coach to communicate this information to the WESO Board so that we can take appropriate steps to ensure the student's success.
- Assessments/Projects
- Organizing assessment and project collection for participating students; and
- Communicating to the WESO Board which students completed activities for each month's theme.
- Event Recognition
- Distributing participation awards on behalf of WESO Board to participating students.
Thanks so much for your consideration!
Mitchell PTO
