Devyn Weed and Jacob Papazoglou

Staff Writer 

Sci-Lions, the Science Olympiad club here at Foran, has started planning for its upcoming year. Students in the club apply their knowledge in biology, chemistry, and even physics to create and research projects they will later show in competition. The club meets every Thursday after school in Mr. Connor’s room.

Students in Sci-Lions work together, brainstorm, and build projects to be judged. Science Olympiad competitions focus on subjects like genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology. According to the organization’s website, “Science Olympiad functions much like a football or soccer team, requiring preparation, commitment, coaching and practice throughout the year,”

Members of Foran’s Sci-Lions club are preparing to go to science competitions such as UConn, Yale, and Sacred Heart. During these competitions, students show off their inventions to students from other schools. There are topics such as mission possible and circuits that kids can compete in. “We build construction projects and bring them to competitions,” says Henry Leonard, a junior at Foran.

Students in the Sci-Lions club work every week with teachers Mr. Stern, Foran’s physics teacher, and Mr. Connors, Foran’s chemistry teacher, perfecting their projects for each competition. Many other science teachers are volunteers for this club: Mr. Chris Kochiss, Mrs. Laura Donovan, Ms. Emily Lockhart, and Mr. Joe Badala. The teachers help students learn and work on their designs.

Mr. Stern has been a part of the club for  six years and enjoys helping the students prepare for the competitions. Mr. Stern says, “The students do events in all fields of science. For example, students may take written tests or compete in construction competitions.”

Many of the students in Sci-Lions want to dive deeper into science and further their understanding of it. Not only do the students love to learn, they also enjoy hanging out with their friends and seeing them every week at the club. “It’s a great way to meet new people and spend time with your friends. I really like how we get to do the topics we like and it’s always more fun to do them with my friends. Last year I did mission possible with my friend Shayna and it was really fun,” claims junior Kaylee Phung. This is Phung’s second year in Sci-Lions and she says that it’s challenging and fun to make the projects and bring them to competitions.

This club is open to all of the students at Foran, especially ones who are dedicated to their schoolwork and love science. The fee to join Sci-Lions is $20. Meetings are held on Thursdays in room 409 for any students are interested in joining. The first competition will be January 25, 2020 at Sacred Heart University and then the Yale Competition on February 1, 2020 and ends with the state competition on April 4, 2020.