Young scientists from Moss Hill Elementary School host the trophy they claimed as champions of the 2023 LCPS Science Olympiad, a competition among the district’s nine elementary schools held Friday at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 Schools.

A single point added up to a first-time win on Friday for the team from Moss Hill Elementary School, champions of the 2023 LCPS Elementary Science Olympiad.

Moss Hill racked up a string of top-three finishes to edge out second-place Pink Hill Elementary School, last year’s winner, and Northwest Elementary School, which finished second in 2022.

“This is the first time our team has won first place overall, and they were all very excited to be a part of it,” Glenda Kennedy, a fourth-grade teacher and part of the team of Science Olympiad coaches at Moss Hill, said.

Elementary Science Olympiad, in its seventh year, tests the knowledge of third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students through events that combine fun with an understanding of STEM – that is, science, technology, engineering and math.

During the morning-long competition held at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School, students launched rockets, stress-tested bridges built out of pasta, fired marshmallows at targets from catapults they’d engineered, sleuthed out the chemical composition of secret compounds and bent into their iPads to answer questions on everything from meteorology to astronomy.

In the 15 events, Moss Hill competitors finished first, second or third in 10. Both Moss Hill and Pink Hill posted four first-place wins, but Moss Hill’s consistency provided the slim margin of victory.

The Tigers have been practicing the various events since January, according to Kennedy. “All of our teachers coached an event and met with their team weekly to ensure students were ready for competition,” she said. “We are so proud of their accomplishments and how encouraging they were to each other during the competition!”

All nine elementary schools fielded teams. The team from La Grange Elementary School won the Spirit Award, presented to the team that demonstrated the most outstanding spirit and sportsmanship.