Twenty-four students from St. Bede formed two teams competing in the State Science Olympiad Competition held at the University of West Alabama and took home both First and Second Place in the contest. Eleven teams from across central and west Alabama converged on the university campus for a weekend of science competitions. The Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. The Science Olympiad is also designed to encourage classroom teachers to explore new and challenging ways of teaching science. Students who participate in the Science Olympiad are taught advanced science through active, hands-on participation. All events involve teamwork, group planning, cooperation, and promote team spirit and good sportsmanship. St. Bede has retained the top spot at this competition for the past several years and continues to maintain its First Place ranking again this year. The team also brought home 10 First Place Medals, 6 Second Place Medals, and 9 Third Place Medals. The St. Bede Science Olympiad Teams are sponsored by 4th grade teacher Ms. Melanie Grayson, 5th grade teacher Mr. Larry Meiers, and 6th grade teacher Mr. Nick Bourke.
Participating in the State Science Olympiad for St. Bede are Broghan Freeland, Mary France Miles, Matthew Neo, Tara Bourke, Ann Marie Dean, James Sherman, Chad DuBois, Paige Barranco, Lindsay Guin, Stone Miller, Tiffany Camacho, Jordan Heymann, Marisa Pickard, Kristina Vanella, Giselle Simms, Connor Preston, Sean Federspill, Andrew Roberts, Will Littleton, Michael Moussalli, Geoffrey Myers, Zach Hulcher, Ashley Kim, and Ryan Norris.
