RHMS: Regional Science Bowl
Submitted by Marabelle Cecil, student writer; photo courtesy of Zengfa Gao
Rocky Heights Middle School students, Annie Gao, Taylor Kurtic, coach David Gao (Rock Canyon high school student), Cindy Zhang, Katie Dupper and Marabelle Cecil answered college-level science and math questions at the recent middle school Science Bowl regional tournament. RHMS team took third place for the second year running.
Led by Rock Canyon High School student David Gao, the Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) Science Bowl team placed third in regionals for the second year.
Team members Katie Dupper, Annie Gao, Taylor Kurtic, Cindy Zhang, and Marabelle Cecil are all eighth grade students. The girls worked hard all year, studying life science, physical science, Earth and space science as well as energy and mathematics.
“It’s a tournament-style competition where two teams compete against each other and answer questions about science,” explained Dupper. “You start with a toss-up which is worth four points. Whoever gets that right gets a bonus which is worth 10 points. My favorite part about Science Bowl is when we practice because we spend time together, eat food and you learn a lot of things that are helpful at school too.”
The competition was held in early February at Mountain View High School in Loveland, Colorado. RHMS competed against 23 other middle school teams from all over Colorado. During the final round, they faced one of Preston Middle School’s teams. Preston made it to Science Bowl Nationals the previous year. Determined to beat them, the girls worked extremely hard to answer college-level questions about science and mathematics. Unfortunately, it ended with an extremely close score with Preston beating them by only a few bonus points.
“I cried, but I knew we did our best. I was still upset because we didn’t get the result we hoped for,” Dupper said. “What mattered is that we put forth our best effort, and it was really fun hanging out as a team.” David Gao, the team’s coach, was extremely proud of his team and all the hard work they put into it. “It’s an incredible experience that was worth it!” exclaimed Dupper.
