The McPherson Sentinel
New! Tue May 20, 2008, 02:38 PM CDT
Story Tools: Email This Email This | Print This Print This
McPherson, Kan. -

Fifteen gifted students from McPherson Middle School recently traveled to Wichita State University to compete in the Kansas Science Olympiad competition. Thirty schools from across the state were invited to compete, including larger schools from Topeka, Olathe, Salina and Wichita.

McPherson Middle School finished third at Regionals, automatically qualifying them to attend State.

Debra Vogt, Gifted Facilitator at MMS and MMS Science Olympiad team coach, has taken a team to the regional competition at K-State Salina for the past five years. This was the first visit to the State level of Science Olympiad for McPherson Middle School.

“I hope this will become a tradition for us,” Vogt said of this year’s results.

“I was so happy and proud of our students,” Vogt said. “We hope to return next year and be even stronger.”

The following students were members of this year’s MMS Science Olympiad team.
Ben Crouch, eight grade, and Kerrick van Asselt, sixth grade, received third place medals in Rocks and Minerals.

Grace Heidebrecht, eight grade, and Sasta Steinert, seventh grade, placed seventh in Write It Do It.

Heidebrecht and Andrew Shaughnessy, eighth grade, placed 10th in Metric Mastery.
The top two schools at the middle school level were Olathe’s California Trail Junior High School and All Saint Catholic School of Wichita. They will go on to the National Science Olympiad in Washington D.C. at the end of May.

Kansas Science Olympiad is a statewide interscholastic competition which challenges the abilities of secondary and middle school teams to demonstrate their knowledge, ability and skills in all areas of science.