Huntington Wins Science Olympiad Medals
Two teams of top Huntington High School students turned in strong performances at the Science Olympiad competition hosted by Half Hollow Hills East High School.
Accompanied by Huntington science teachers Lori Pyzocha-Kenny, Joseph Cohen, Dame Forbes, Anna Fabela, and student teacher Elisabet Nerdallen, the teams headed to the competition bright and early on Saturday morning and finished the grueling event with a fistful of medals.
In the chemistry lab category, Huntington's Julianna Coraor and Jacob Roday earned second place. Ms. Coraor and her sister, Kaja, were second in the Write it Do it competition. Adam Cerini and Mikah Feldman-Stein finished third in the "Sound of Music" category. William Hannon and Frank Yeh were fifth in ornithology.
"The results achieved by our teams were amazing," Mrs. Pyzocha-Kenny said. "This year, our teams stepped up their game a bit." Last year Huntington students won three medals in the competition. This year's group captured four medals.
Huntington's two Science Olympiad teams have been practicing since last September to gain an edge in the competition, which touches upon many areas of science, including biology, earth science, chemistry and physics.
The recent competition was an eye-opener for many teenagers. "It was a completely different experience for some of the students because there were many schools that competed, and different varieties of projects that were made and presented," Mrs. Pyzocha-Kenny said. "It was also a new experience because some students were competing in something totally different from what they had previously done."
The Science Olympiad a non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of science education for students and teachers. "The competitions are rigorous events and thousands of students prepare for them throughout the year," Mrs. Pyzocha-Kenny said.
One Huntington team consisted of Jacob Roday, Allison Kiley, Danielle Cerezo, Sarah Cerezo, Adam Cerini, Mikah Feldman-Stein, Julianna Coraor, Kaja Coraor, Andrea Cerini, Amber Linder, Bobby Scott, Frank Yeh, Will Hannon, Eric Sze and Matt Angeliadis.
A second Huntington team was comprised of Carrie Fante, Michelle Byrne, John Coffey, Andrew Ku, Jeffrey Sun, Danny Touhey, Emaad Khawaj, Cindythia Harjono, Andrew Mollitor, Alexandra Mandriota, Marc Feldman and Victor Tellez.
"Students who compete in these competitions are well-rounded and hard working," Mrs. Pyzocha-Kenny said. "Besides the academic knowledge of the materials, students also need to know the real life application, science application, and process skills of these competitions."
Students interested in competing in future Science Olympiad competitions should see Mrs. Pyzocha-Kenny in room 112 at Huntington High School or send her a message at lpyzocha@hufsd.edu.