December 2023

This newsletter contains news and information of interest to Montana Science Olympiad coaches - current, past and future. For questions, please contact the MSU Science Math Resource Center.

Is your team registered yet?

If you downloaded Science Olympiad rules and are preparing for the tournament, you should be!

win a free Science Olympiad Starter Pack

From all the teams that are registered by Dec. 22, we will choose TWO B teams and TWO C teams to win a 2024 Science Olympiad Starter Pack of your choice from the National Science Olympiad store. (Starter Packs are collections of notes and past exams relevant to the unique topics of this year's events that were created by top Event Supervisors and Rules Committee members.) If you register more than one team (Varsity and JV) you get that same number of entries, but your team(s) must be in our system by Dec. 22.

Remember -- you don't have to pay until Feb. 3, so

Join us Dec. 5 for coach office hours at 4pm

New, veteran and prospective coaches are invited to join the Montana Science Olympiad staff online from 4pm to 5pm on Tuesday, Dec. 5 for monthly coaches' office hours. You can drop in anytime during the hour to ask questions about the upcoming season, get help with a particular situation, or just hang out with the Montana Science Olympiad staff.

Find the WebEx link on our School Teams and Coaches Page

Future Coach Office Hours

Tuesday, January 16 at 4pm

If you have any questions, email mtscioly@montana.edu

Free Webinar Dec. 6 helps students and parents leverage Science Olympiad for college applications

This Webinar is brought to you at no charge by National Science Olympiad and its partner InGenius Prep. Former MIT admissions officer DJ Rock will explore the steps that talented STEM students should take to have their applications leave a lasting impression. You’ll be able to ask questions and receive feedback live.

Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 6pm Mountain Time

Learn more and register here

Reminder: Agricultural Science trial event will be hosted for Divisions B and C

In addition to the 14 events in Division B and in Division C, we will be running a TRIAL EVENT called Agricultural Science (theme: Plants). Trial events are up-and-coming events that are not yet part of the full rotation of official events. Students CAN earn medals, but points for the event do NOT count toward the overall team trophies. (Read more about Trial Events here). Also, if your team has alternates, they are eligible to compete in the trial event!

Agricultural Science involves doing an experiment ahead of time; sharing your findings with the event supervisors via a scientific notebook; and testing your knowledge on competition day. Pick out your team members who love agriculture and plants!

You can find the rules for the Agricultural Science Trial Event in the "Trial Event" section of both Division B and Division C Rules Manuals.

Important dates and links

The 2024 state tournament is hosted at MSU on Friday, April 19, 2024.

STEM Fun Night will be hosted at the Museum of the Rockies on Thursday evening April 18, and is free to any registered Science Olympiad team.

Montana events for both Division B and Division C are posted on the Science Olympiad website along with links to download this year's rules manuals.

We look forward to staying in touch throughout the year -- please contact us if you have any questions: mtscioly@montana.edu.

Missed the coaches' kickoff Oct. 25? Watch it here

New to Science Olympiad? Check out our Getting Started page

Do you know an aspiring Science Olympiad coach or STEM teacher interested in cool opportunities? Please share this newsletter so they can join in. Or, they can subscribe at bit.ly/mtso-newsletter