Meeting ideas?

[Valerie Huang]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what we could do for our Science Olympiad meeting days? I'm at a loss for ideas on how to make each meeting productive, but also successful because I don't want to have knowledge kids just sitting there taking practice tests for 45 minutes. 

Then also for the kids doing build and lab events, I don't know what to tell them to do during each meeting. 

Sorry, we're a first-year team and I'm kind of scrambling to get everything set. 

Also, how useful are the build/event kits at Ward Science? They're really pricey, and I would want to know if they're worth it. Also if are there any alternatives to those kits? Our school is tight on budget. 

Thanks!!

[Sara Cupp]

Hi Valerie,

There is a lot to learn and it is great you are starting a team! It will get easier for sure.

In one of our first meetings, I gave students these instructions.

I'm considering having a binder check, design check, checking they have all supplies for builds for certain events at our weekly meeting.

Experimental design and code busters are fun activities that everyone could participate in for learning also.

Good luck! I hope you get some more ideas - as I would love to hear more about how to be productive while students are working on different events:-)

□ Print out and review rules for your event.

o Note that rules can be modified or interpreted throughout the season. Check for any updates periodically, especially leading up to invitationals.

□ The SciOly Wiki Page has SO many resources. This is a great place to start! https://scioly.org/wiki/Main_Page

□ Science Olympiad TV is on YouTube. You can subscribe - https://www.youtube.com/@ScienceOlympiadTV

□ Practice Tests are really helpful for most events. Many practice tests can be found here: https://scioly.org/wiki/Test_Exchange_Archive

o Make sure to use years that have the current topic when you are practicing. o Here is another good practice questions site: https://scio.ly/ *Note that these questions are scraped from actual tests, and might be referring to an images that aren’t included or topics that have been phased out

□ Make a list of items needed for your event. Do you need a binder, calculator, study resources? For builds, look at various kits and decide if one would be good for you or if you will build from a parts list.

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Sara J. Cupp

sara...@gmail.com

Cell:      425-753-0540

[Valerie Huang]

This is great, thank you so much!

[Heather DeGeorge]

We do a lot of teambuilding and sharing of wins and challenges for the week. This helps a lot in teambuilding, helping one another, and in managing stress levels and expectations. This eats up a chunk of time. You could do it biweekly. 

If your team is Div B, I would add learning WIDI to what Sara suggested. My kids also learn map skills and math problem solving strategies for speed.  With the advent of Engineering CAD at the high school level it would be wise to encourage the middle schoolers to learn it to draw their builds and feed a high school team’s capabilities.  

--Heather DeGeorge, MAT, PMP
   

On Oct 11, 2025, at 11:27 PM, Valerie Huang <vchua...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ScienceOlympiadCoaches/CADJvs6yXGrAiNDuNyjr60fo%3DUxqmEbu0qThuf%3Da1MMii_n9Uxg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Prasanna S Adavi]

We have a prep meeting once a week. I have found that the meetings are effective only if students have a 'test' or a quiz to take (if it is a brain event). The expectation is that they spend 20-30 mins every day reading 

their topics for the week, and the prep meeting is a checkpoint.

In the initial stages, when kids are still learning the materials, I make quizzes topic wise for the kids to take during the prep meeting.  That would give them a sense of where they stand on that topic. As we progress, I shift to using practice papers, invitations etc., You can also ask other parents to prepare these quizzes and send them to you.

For build events, while the other kids take the quizzes, I work with the kids in build events to evaluate what they have, and try to get them help on wherever they are stuck. It helps if you have other parents as volunteers during this. As we progress into the season, we spend more time on these as well. If there are many build events, having a schedule will help, on which events will be practiced when. 

Since this is your first yeat, be prepared to take on a lot as a the coach (I was there a couple of years ago). As you build the system, it will get smoother.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ScienceOlympiadCoaches/CADJvs6yXGrAiNDuNyjr60fo%3DUxqmEbu0qThuf%3Da1MMii_n9Uxg%40mail.gmail.com.

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Prasanna S. Adavi
248-417-3101 (cell)

[Narayan S. Raja]

Aloha, Div C Coaches,

I'm looking for a tryout test (not necessarily Tournament level)

for the Materials Science event (nanotechnology).  

I can trade for our own tests of some other events.

Hoping to hear from you,

Raja

head coach

Iolani School Div C

Honolulu, HI.