Thirty-five fourth through sixth grade students from St. Bede formed three teams competing in the State Science Olympiad Competition held at the University of West Alabama and took home First, Second and Third Place in the contest. Several 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 St. Bede Science Olympiad Teams are sponsored by Miss Heather Kirsch, Mr. Larry Meiers, Mrs. Lee Ann Barranco, and Mr. Nick Bourke. Fourth Grade participants were Patrick O'Mara, Mary Reagan Starrett, Wilson Miles, Jackson Byrd, Jennifer Westendorf, and Phoebe Hall. Fifth Grade participants were Mary Janet McLaughlin, Ashley Kim, Jacob Hulcher, Drew Tolar, Ali Harper, Trey Magden, DeLohn Wyatt, Mandy Jones, Andrew Bomberg, Paige Barranco, Ashley Sulzby, and Sean Federspill. Sixth Grade participants were Sam McLaughlin, Tiffany Cammacho, Michael Moussalli, Kristina Vanella, Sophie Williams, Rachael Fry, Dylan Martin, Matt Pouncey, Abby Rohde, Matt Donahue, Geoffrey Myers, Ryan Norris, Maddie O'Mara, Caden Bean, Tara Bourke, Patrick McGinn, Alex Castanza, and James Sherman.
