P’ville Middle School Students Shine at Science Olympiad

By Janine Bowen

A group of Pleasantville Middle School students are proud to be GEEKS.

The acronym stands for Great Enthusiastic Educated Kid Scientists, a team that competed in the March 8 regional Science Olympiad at Scarsdale Middle School on March 8 and took home a fourth-place prize.

Nearly 30 students from the school competed on one of two teams in 20 challenges, many of which were sponsored by prestigious organizations. They were able to achieve six first-place finishes as well as having teams of students take home first- and third-place finishes in two events.

Overall, the GEEKS won 15 medals for the school.

Science Olympiad students are a part of Friends of STEM, an extended learning organization that is in its second year and experiencing impressive success.

“I think that what we’ve accomplished this far, in itself, is a huge accomplishment and I think that the children have made themselves and the town and the school very proud,” said Melissa Brown, Pleasantville Middle School’s extended learning coordinator.

In the two years since Friends of STEM was started by 37-year Pleasantville resident Dr. Martha Matteo, the team has doubled in size, allowing students across grades and schools to work together.

High school students have returned to the middle school to help coach the Science Olympiad teams, while middle school students visited the fourth grade science fair to give younger students a taste of some of the educational excitement that awaits them.

The effort has also given students who are not necessarily good athletes the opportunity to be part of a team. In some cases, it has afforded children who did not necessarily fit in a chance to connect with students who share similar interests.

The organization has also brought together an assortment of village residents, mainly retirees who hold advanced degrees and who want to volunteer their expertise to help students.

Matteo and her husband, Dr. Charles Matteo, have been delighted at the response they have received from students who not only want to learn but are eager to take on extra work. They explained that youngsters who join the Science Olympiad don’t have to be top-notch science students, just possess a curiosity and the desire to contribute to the team.

“We don’t care if you get an A or a 4 on the state test, but [we care] if you learned something. If you don’t have the ability but want to learn, that’s enough,” Charles Matteo said.

Many students who took home first-place prizes in this year’s event went into their projects with little knowledge and had to learn the basics, he said. One pair of sixth-grade girls built a boomliever, but first needed to learn how to cut and glue wood. Along the way students learned through trial and error, figuring out how to improve and develop projects on their own with minimal guidance from coaches.

“These kids are used to taking tests, but this isn’t really a test…it’s do something and just see how well you can do it, without a lot of instructions,” Charles Matteo explained.

Since children are able to develop whatever projects they want within the loose parameters and categories established by the Science Olympiad rules, they are afforded much more independence than in a classroom setting.

Martha Matteo explained that teaching children the process of learning and discovery, and watching them succeed, is the real reward of the Science Olympiad.

“Process is, frankly, what I want to teach,” she said. “For me, the goal is to strengthen in the students,a desire for an inquiry-based knowledge and a process that enables them to do it easily. That’s the outcome we’re looking for. It’s not the prizes.”

Of the 30 students who participated in the regional Science Olympiad, 15 will attend the state finals in Rochester. But the Matteos said even those students who will stay home are enthusiastic and want to assist their teammates in the April 4-5 competition.

The students even insisted that projects are entered in all 25 categories, which means that some students are contributing to four or five projects each.

“They’re actually excited about doing it…we will sit for everything or die trying,” Martha Matteo said.

“For them to have this drive and this excitement, it’s a joy to watch,” added Brown.

The Matteos admitted that even though Friends of STEM, which also competes in the Math Olympiad and the First Lego League Robotics, has achieved wide success, they are still a work in progress. Like the students, they are learning as they go.

They are currently looking for more volunteers and seeking grants so they can continue to develop and improve the program. They are also seeking donations to help fund the trip to Rochester.