Rising Starr was Georgia's middle school state champion, followed by Booth, who brought home the second-place trophy at the statewide competition held recently in Columbus. On April 14, McIntosh won the title in the high school state championship held at Emory University. Although their teams are not heading to the national championship competition next month, both Flat Rock Middle and Sandy Creek High competed and scored well at the state level. Flat Rock placed ninth and Sandy Creek seventh. In order to become the national champion, not only will Fayette's schools have to out score top Science Olympiad teams from other states, but Rising Starr and Booth Middle will also have to go up against each other as they contend for the top honor in their division.
Booth is no stranger to winning national championships, having won five in a row.
However, Mary Wilde, Science Olympiad coach at Booth, says that competition from other schools within the state is making the contest more challenging each year. We are finding that our biggest competition is coming from systems within our own state. This year will mark Booth's 10th consecutive year of going to the national competition. Wilde says one of her strategies is to look for students who are team players. During the national competition, students must compete in a total of 23 events and each one requires working with at least two people.