Science Olympiads
We would like to celebrate the students who stepped out into the arena of Science this semester, taking on the challenges available and reaping the rewards of daring greatly.
In a 1910 speech Teddy Roosevelt said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” This is a quote I find very apt when talking about the Science Olympiad examinations. 2022 saw a record number of students taking part in the Junior Science Olympiad exam and Senior Science Olympiad exams in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Earth and Environmental Science. These exams are not for the faint-hearted. The problem-solving skills and depth and breadth of understanding required to perform well are extreme and all three are needed. Congratulations to all the girls who took the leap.
A summary of all those getting distinctions (top 30% of Australian participants) or high distinctions (top 10%) can be found below. Well done to all of you. We wanted to particularly applaud a few exceptional performances, namely Amber Li and Evelyn Zhu who both got a High Distinction in Senior Biology, while only being in Year 8 and 9 respectively. Amber also placed in the Top 50 Year 8 students in Australia for the Junior Olympiad. Elena Zhang in Year 10 got a High Distinction in Senior Biology and was invited to join the Australian Olympiad Team Summer school, where students prepare for the international competition, and from here can be selected to make the Australian team. Wow!
Distinction in Junior Science: Maya Garg (Year 9), Nityasree Viswanathan (Year 9), Mulan Xu (Year 10), Carly Yiu (Year 10), Ellie Beck (Year 10), Jacqueline Wo (Year 10)
High Distinction in Junior Olympiad: Jasmine Li (Year 10), Elena Zhang (Year 10), Amber Li (Year 10), Julie Sheng (Year 10)
Distinction in Biology: Julie Sheng (Year 10), Vicky Hu (Year 9)
Distinction in Chemistry: Joy Yuan (Year 10), Jolie Pang (Year 11), Annelise Koh (Year 11), Annie Chen (Year 11), Caitlyn Tan (Year 11), Jessie Xie (Year 11), Yi Ying Lim (Year 11)
High Distinction in Chemistry: Mia Jiang (Year 11)
Distinction in Earth and Environmental Science: Julie Sheng (Year 10)
Distinction in Physics: Yi Ying Lim (Year 11) and Caitlyn Tan (Year 11).
The following girls took on the challenge of multiple subjects: Julie Sheng, Grace Ho, Elena Zhang, Hanna Cheung, Martina Chin, Aileen Hao, Anneliese Koh, Jasmine Li, Yi Ying Lim, Alexandra Luxton, Jolie Pang, Yuki Wang and Echo Zhang.
Junior Youth Physics Tournament
Congratulations to Grace Ho (Year 10), Evelyn Zhu (Year 9), Jessica Wang (Year 9) and Emily Yu (Year 9) for competing in the 2022 Junior Youth Physics Tournament over the weekend. These girls have been working in their own time to understand a variety of physical phenomena that has been observed but not yet explained. These students conducted experiments and derived new theories to make predictions and explain these phenomena. Then their work was critiqued by other students from across the country in Perth who had also studied these phenomena. I was so proud to watch our students conduct themselves with grace and eloquence in this demanding competition. We now move into the senior competition of the International Youth Physics Tournament, for which Australian team members will be selected in March 2023.
