The Salem Kids at Olympiad

This weekend was the Science Olympiad and Novali's school was a first time team. They have been practicing for a few months with the amazing teachers at her school, especially Miss Morris who Novali just adores. Her dedication to the kids is amazing, and makes me wish I lived closer so I could volunteer more with the school.

I signed up to be a room parent, bring snacks and help all day for the competition. I also drove a van of 7th grade girls out to Oakton Community College the host site for the competition. Upon arriving I realized it right away, and I wasn't sure if the students would. The most privileged of school districts had buses here, all the private school jackets and fancy vehicles in the parking lot, with coaches for nearly every category of competition (some with more coaches than students)... and us in our caravan of kids, handful of parents and one lone teacher.

As soon as we got to the room one of the girls already noticed and said, "We are the only brown kids here..." Ah the innocence of youth, and yes they always impress me with their insightfulness... unfortunately I think they also realized how badly the odds were stacked against them.

Miss Morris giving team instructions

Salem Boomilever Team!

After the boomilever competition, in which I had to help super glue repairs minutes before... it was so clear. The schools that had three or four adults "helping" the student work on their balsa wood structure did the best. Our team built their structure mostly on their own and needed some quick repairs to fit the guidelines. They have money or time to test structures, and it appears that several schools even had mock ups or the actual test equipment to practice on. Our structure held weight but the student was disappointed. I thought he did great, he handled the pressure of last minute repairs and was poised in rigging up the arm. Can't expect much more from a 7th grader, or a high schoolers for that matter.

Novali and friend ready
for Metric Masters

Novali was in three competitions. She played "Sounds of Music" were she made a homemade recorder and a partner accompanied her on a homemade xylophone. The judges were impressed by their rendition of "Smooth Criminal." She is was in "Metric Masters" for measurements and math. Her final competition of the day was "Rocks and Minerals" and she really worked hard on that one.

It was a fun day, I played room parent, runner of pencils, and morale coach and super gluer of boomilevers. The kids stayed positive, mostly in part of their great teacher, and they are excited for next year. At the awards ceremony they clapped and enjoyed each others company. We took a medal in one category! We didn't medal in the ones we thought we would... but then again, this was a first time seventh grade team, playing in the varsity category against mostly 8th graders who competed last year in JV. So next year... we stand a fighting chance.

So I might have to ask a favor of my Chicago peeps... if you have a science background, and want to help some kids compete next year Salem Christian would love it. They took a big step going into the unknown this year, and next year could really compete but they need help. It reminds me why I took the job at La Casa de Amistad... to try and give kids a chance, that might otherwise not even be in the game. We need to help to level the playing field, hope you can join.

Team Salem! 

I was proud of Novali for stepping outside of her comfort zone, challenging herself and being a good competitor. Not much else a dad can expect, actually, no thats about it. Love that kid.