Fair Oaks Elementary School has once again proven to be the best in Stanislaus County as a team of Falcons recently secured the championship title at the 26th annual Elementary Science Olympiad.
Hosted Saturday, April 27 at Walnut School, the team of 18 Fair Oaks students competed against close to 300 elementary school children from throughout Stanislaus County.
“This is our fourth year in a row winning,” co-Coach Mary White said of she and fellow coach and fifth grade teacher Jessica Fisher, noting that once Fisher joined her with coaching they have medaled ever since.
The co-coaches shared the win came as a pleasant surprise to them as well as the team of 18, as they had lost roughly half the members from their previous year’s team.
“We thought it was going to be a rebuilding year and weren’t expecting much,” White said.
“The kids worked really hard and they surprised us, which was awesome,” Fisher added.
Placing in the top five in eight of the 17 categories, the overall win proved to be a group effort of the entire team as they also placed in the top 10 in the majority of the overall categories.
“They were super excited because they didn’t have a lot of medals,” White said of the team’s surprise hearing they had won the overall title. “We weren’t up there getting first through third medals. The kids were convinced it (champion) was going to be one of the other schools.”
Earning top five nods were the following students in the given categories:
Catapult, First Place: Ari Cortes and Cody Genasci; Circuit Wizardry, First Place: Moses Jackson and Ben Willingham; Crime Busters, Fourth Place: Adalyn Tolboe and Madison Lang; Deep Blue Sea, Third Place: Ben Fisher and Paizlee Nunes; Paddle Boat, Third Place: Adam Yakligian; Picture This, Fourth Place: Adam Yakligian, Emily Mercer and Paizlee Nunes; Straw Egg Drop, First Place: Kennedy Seefeldt and Kate Oliveira; Write It Do It, Fourth Place: Sam Cordano and Emily Mercer.
“When the kids get so excited and that buy in. Every parent shows up and they camp and everybody’s just so excited for it. We don’t want to let them down,” White said of her commitment to continuing to coach.
“I think the kids, to see them throughout the year and the team spirit. Being able to work with students they may not have chosen or may not be their best friend, they’re able to pull that camaraderie together,” Fisher said. “I think it’s really amazing to see how they work with each other. It makes me happy to be around them and see their enthusiasm.”
Participating schools, in addition to Fair Oaks, included: Agnes Baptist, Cloverland, Dennis Earl, Fremont Open Plan, Great Valley Academy, Hickman Charter, Hughes, Julien, Keyes, Magnolia, Our Lady of Fatima, Sierra View and Walnut.
“Almost every event made it to the top 10,” White concluded. “We make a big point to the kids, that just because you didn’t get up for an individual medal, you are all a huge part of us winning overall.”
