By PAT NEWMAN

Science students at three Fayette County schools are fine-tuning their trajectory calibrations in preparation for next month's National Science Olympiad to be held in Chicago. Teams from Rising Starr Middle School, J.C. Booth Middle School and McIntosh High School will compete against the best science students in the country in a series of 27 events. Fayette County students make up three of the four teams representing Georgia. The fourth school is from Chamblee.

"We are celebrating our tenth year in the National Science Olympiad," said Mary Wilde, J.C. Booth's science teacher and olympiad coach. Booth students have brought home the national title for three consecutive years. They will be joined by students from Starr's Mill, who ranked second at the state level and are making their first trip to the nationals. McIntosh will be competing in the high school "C" division after taking second place on the state level.

"We work very, very hard," Wilde said of her team's efforts to place first year after year. "Hours are put into it and we have wonderful parental support," she added. This year, Wilde is taking 36 students to the academic competition.

Julie Gray, science teacher at Rising Starr, is prepping her 17-member team for the event. They practice everything from checking the power in their battery-operated buggy, to targeting their balls at various heights from their hand-built trajectory, she explained.

Work begins at the beginning of the school year, and students compete through the ranks various of regional competitions to reach the national level scheduled for May 13, 14 and 15. "We're taking the bus with Booth and McIntosh students are flying," Gray said. Fund-raising is an integral part of participating in the competition, and Gray estimates the cost of the trip for her team will run about $10,000. All students are raising money for their fare and hotel. Booth has received a $1,000 donation from The Goody Company to defray expenses.

The Science Olympiad Team from Starr's Mill includes Laura Maughan, Jonathan Ferro, Matt Ferro, Caitlin Clarke, Justin Lai, Trevor Lorber, Brian O'Keefe, Danny O'Shaugnessy, Nate Overall, Rachel Barker, Kiran Valiano, Kipp Ramsey, Kahn Howard, Daniel Bailey, Michael Koziol, Alaina Jones and Scott Molleson. Members on Booth's Team A include Megan Bernard, Christine Ellenburg, Tony Hung, Randy Hutchinson, Kate Schmid, Michael Condon, Tori Fratto, Robert Huefner, Linda Ketsche, Ryan Nigro, John Powers, Reah Rogers, Chris Taylor, Ben Lorber, Brett Morris and alternates Chris Baudhuin and Sunya Sweeney. Team B includes Joe Piasta, Amanda Casey, Caleb Austin, Michelle Ellenburg, Meghan Lasseter, Heather Meaders, Nate Reddy, Priscilla Roberts, Michael Smith, Katie Taylor, Jordan Worrall, Tom Wyatt, Whitney Baker, Kim Bevillard, Mohua Basu, alternates are James Wade and Arthur Gwynne.

Back to the Top of the PageBack to the Weekend Home Page