(Posted May 2, 2005)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Shady Side Academy Middle School and Stroudsburg Junior High School finished first and second respectively in Division B of the 2005 Pennsylvania Science Olympiad State Finals held Friday, April 29, at Juniata College.

Harriton High School finished first, and Penncrest High School finished second in Division C of the 2005 Science Olympiad State Finals.

All four teams will advance to the National Science Olympiad Finals May 20-21 at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In 2004, Juniata College hosted the National Science Olympiad. The state competition brought more than 1,100 high school and middle school students from across the state to the Juniata campus Friday. The students competed in 46 total events - some individual and some team -and earned points.

Attendees were divided into two divisions - Division B (grades 6-9) and Division C (grades 9-12). Teams attending the state finals at Juniata qualified by being among the top place-finishers at regional competitions. There were five regional competitions held in Pennsylvania in March and April.

The Science Olympiad State Finals highlighted the talents and skills of the top young scientific minds in Pennsylvania. Shady Side Academy Middle School took the top team prize in Division B followed by second-place winner Stroudsburg Junior High School, third-place winner Bala Cynwyd Middle School, fourth-place winner Hershey Middle School and fifth-place winner Bishop McDevitt Junior High School.
Harriton High School took the Division C title followed by second-place finisher Penncrest High School. The third-place winner was Lower Merion High School; the fourth-place winner was Kutztown Area High School; and the fifth-place winner was State College Area High School.

The goals of the Science Olympiad, a non-profit organization, are to improve the quality of science education, increase student interest in science and recognize outstanding achievement in science education. The Science Olympiad involved, nationwide, more than 1 million elementary and secondary school students in classroom activities, workshops and tournaments.

For more information about the Science Olympiad, visit the Science Olympiad Web site, www.soinc.org.

A complete list of the first- through third-place finishers in each of the 46 events will follow this press release:

Science Olympiad Results:

B Division:
Awesome Aquifer
1. Stroudsburg Junior High School
2. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
3. Greater Nanticoke Area Junior High School

Bottle Rocket
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Wyoming Area Middle School
3. Welsh Valley Middle School

Bridge Building
1. Kutztown Middle School
2. Haverford Middle School
3. Shady Side Academy Middle School

Can't Judge a Powder
1. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
2. Wyoming Valley Middle School
3. Bishop McDevitt Junior High School

Compute This
1. DuBois Area Middle School
2. Welsh Valley Middle School
3. Shady Side Academy Middle School

Dynamic Planet
1. Bishop McDevitt Junior High School
2. Hershey Middle School
3. Wyoming Area Middle School

Experimental Design
1. Finley Middle School
2. Hershey Middle School
3. Franklin Regional Middle School

Forestry
1. Penns Valley Area Junior/Senior High School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Welsh Valley Middle School

Fossils
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Stroudsburg Junior High School
3. Peters Township Middle School

Meteorology
1. Exeter Township Junior High School
2. Franklin Regional Middle School
3. Shady Side Academy Middle School

Mission Possible
1. Stroudsburg Junior High School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Wyoming Area Middle School

Naked Egg Drop
1. Wyoming Area Middle School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Bishop McDevitt Junior High School

Process Skills for Life Science
1. Stroudsburg Junior High School
2. Whitehall Coplay Middle School
3. Central Columbia Middle School

Reach for the Stars
1. Chichester Middle School
2. Exeter Township Junior High School
3. Stroudsburg Junior High School

Road Scholar
1. Chichester Middle School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Unami Middle School

Robo-Billiards
1. Peters Township Middle School
2. Bishop McDevitt Junior High School
3. North East Middle School

Science Crime Busters
1. Stroudsburg Junior High School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Greater Nanticoke Area Junior High School

Science of Fitness
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Penns Valley Area Junior High School
3. Chichester Middle School

Sounds of Music
1. Haverford Middle School
2. North East Middle School
3. Penns Valley Area Junior High School

Storm the Castle
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Bishop McDevitt Junior High School
3. Fleetwood Middle School

Water Quality
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
3. Spring Ford Middle School

The Wright Stuff
1. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
2. Shady Side Academy Middle School
3. Stroudsburg Junior High School

Write It-Do It
1. Hershey Middle School
2. Lemoyne Middle School
3. Strath Haven Middle School


Division C

Astronomy
1. Penncrest High School
2. Fleetwood Area High School
3. Harriton High School

Bottle Rocket
1. Penncrest High School
2. Lower Merion High School
3. Central Columbia High School

Cell Biology
1. State College Area High School
2. Wyoming Area High School
3. Fleetwood Area High School

Chemical I.D.
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Wilson Area High School

Chemistry Lab
1. Bishop McDevitt Senior High School
2. Lower Merion High School
3. Harriton High School

Compute This
1. State College Area High School
2. Kutztown Area High School
3. Lower Merion High School

Designer Genes
1. Penncrest High School
2. State College Area High School
3. Harriton High School

Disease Detectives
1. State College Area High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Woodland Hills High School

Dynamic Planet
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Kane Area High School

Experimental Design
1. Harriton High School
2. Shady Side Academy High School
3. Kutztown Area High School

Fermi Questions
1. Haverford High School
2. Lower Merion High School
3. Harriton High School

Forensics
1. Wyoming Area High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Bishop McDevitt Senior High School

Forestry
1. Penncrest High School
2. Warren Area High School
3. Spring Grove High School

Fossils
1. DuBois Area High School
2. State College Area High School
3. Harriton High School

Health Science
1. Harriton High School
2. Shady Side Academy High School
3. Lower Merion High School

Mission Possible
1. Athens Area High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Bishop McDevitt Senior High School

Physics Lab
1. State College Area High School
2. Pittston Area High School
3. Franklin Regional High School

Practical Data Gathering
1. Penncrest High School
2. Shady Side Academy High School
3. Montour High School

Remote Sensing
1. Penncrest High School
2. Cedar Cliff High School
3. Stroudsburg High School

Robot Ramble
1. Penncrest High School
2. Wilson High School
3. Kutztown Area High School

Storm the Castle
1. Penncrest High School
2. Kutztown Area High School
3. Central Columbia High School

Tower Building
1. Penncrest High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Kutztown Area High School

The Wright Stuff
1. Central Columbia High School
2. Lower Merion High School
3. Kutztown Area High School

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.