Floral Park Students Compete In Science Olympiad

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Thomas Quinlan, Staff Writer

On Saturday, January 31, the top 34 schools in the region came together at the West Nassau Science Olympiad Competition held at Kellenberg Memorial High School.  Schools in attendance included Garden City, Chaminade, Sewanhaka, New Hyde Park Memorial and Great Neck South.

Floral Park Memorial sent 15 of its outstanding science students to compete in the 22 events. The best performances were in the Air Trajectory event (with senior Jack Baumann and junior Samir Rahimy who placed 8th), Chemistry Lab (with juniors Thomas Quinlan and Samir Rahimy who placed 9th), Fossil Identification (with Jack Baumann and Kenny Niles who placed 9th), Game On! (with Kenny Niles and Kate who placed 13th), and Geological Mapping (with Rahimy and Logan Kenneally who placed 13th). An honorable mention was given to Mission Possible which was completed by Thomas Quinlan and Chris Couluris.

Overall, Floral Park Memorial finished in 23rd place.  The team’s relative inexperience, with 11 new members, largely contributed to this result.  A few accidents took place prior to the event such as a bridge being damaged.  But there is no question that the valuable experience learned from this competition will make Floral Park Memorial a major contender for next year.  This optimism comes from the team’s new found knowledge of how the events work and how well the team performed with minimal experience.

The event itself was a wonderful experience to take in and a great time. The students from the other schools were knowledgeable and Kellenberg was a perfect environment for the competition.  The adviser, Mr. Rockensies, did a great job of managing and leading the team.