On Saturday, February 2nd, FHS students traveled to Division Avenue High School in Levittown to participate in a major competition, the annual Nassau East Regional Science Olympiad Competition, where students competed in 26 STEM Events.  For those who don’t know, Science Olympiad is a national competition among the students from various schools.  The topic they are competing in depends on their individual interests, according to Ms. Nicole Koeller. For example, a student from the Class of 2019, Olivia Theranus, competed in herpetology, anatomy, and physiology this year. Ms. Koeller also explained that after the competition is over, those who are top ten receive medals and the top sixteen continue on to states.  

Science Olympiad is a rigorous, yet rewarding, competition. “As a member of Science Olympiad, I learned subjects that are not taught in my regular school setting. It is very beneficial as a young human being, to acquire this much knowledge. This year will be my third time going, and my second time competing and I could not be more excited,” says team member Olivia Theranus.

Preparation for this event is also challenging. Theranus stated, “It is very hard to get prepared for this event. As an extracurricular program, I have to say, it’s a lot and it requires a decent amount of focus. Being determined is the only way to keep up with the studying and get prepared.” She added,  “You will never know who your opponents are until you meet there and start socializing with other amazing and intelligent students.”

At the competition, the Parasitology team earned second place, Farmingdale students also came in fourth in both the Duct Tape Challenge and Protein Modeling. Lastly, the Forensics team placed sixth. Congratulations to all team members for all of your hard work.