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April 5, 2024

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.

Science Olympiad Founders Scholarship 2024

Science Olympiad Founders' Scholarships

Calling all high school seniors! The application for the 2024 Founders' Scholarship is now open! The Science Olympiad USA Foundation will award $10,000 scholarships to five outstanding leaders. Apply today and read about the previous recipients! Your application must be in by April 8, 2024 at midnight CT.

Talks & Tours open Monday!

Talks and Tours registration will open on Monday, April 8 -- watch for these exciting opportunities to tour MSU labs and studios; meet professors and students, and learn about cool research projects in the 1pm to 2pm time slot after competitions have ended and before the awards ceremony begins. Visit the Talks & Tours on the Tournament Day page on the Science Olympiad website.

See you at MSU in 2 weeks!

Unless otherwise noted, all resources listed here are on the school teams and coaches page of the Montana Science Olympiad website.


Last call for MoR STEM Night!

April 10 is the deadline to register for Museum of the Rockies STEM night -- free for all teams on the night before the tournament (April 18).


Block schedule (version 2) with room assignments / conflict information

We will be sending out the second draft of the "block schedule" this week. Please note that this MAY NOT be the final schedule as we discover conflicts with room reservations on campus or with our event supervisors. However, it will give you a general sense of when your students may be competing in their events. We anticipate that any future versions will have small changes, not major changes.


Notable changes: We are still figuring out the room for Road Scholar and Chem Lab.


Additionally, we are committed to accommodating any event conflicts -- we will make sure your students can compete! See the School Teams and Coaches page for the Block Schedule and Event Conflict form.


NEW! MSU Student Club Symposium

NEW this year! The Science Olympiad Student Club will be hosting the Student Club Symposium during this year's tournament. The symposium will give competitors a chance to see what opportunities are available through Montana State University. We hope you will encourage your team members to attend the symposium during their free time. The symposium will take place in the SUB Alumni Lounge from 10am-2:15pm. The Science Olympiad Student Club is eager to show middle and high school competitors what MSU has to offer!


Code of ethics reminder

Please remind your students of the Science Olympiad Code of Ethics. One important reminder is that they should not share information from contests they have already taken with teams that have not gone yet (e.g., middle sharing with high school or JV sharing with Varsity). This is unethical and against the spirit of the competition. A gentle reminder to your competitors is appreciated!


Any accommodations needed for students?

Hi -- if your students need any accommodations in order to participate fully in Science Olympiad, please email mtscioly@montana.edu ASAP. Please note that one of our events is currently scheduled for an upper floor of a building that does not have an elevator. If any of your students will be unable to participate please contact us immediately!


Sciympiad

Very important! By now, you should have

  • Made a new account or logged into your existing account
  • Registered your team

After this step, WE need to manually verify your team. You will not be able to proceed until we have done this. We try to go as fast as we can, but please be patient.


Once we have verified your team, you can:

  • Add all your student's names
  • Start assigning students to events
  • Ask your students to sign the Science Olympiad code of ethics and photo release. You do not need to get a principal's signature, although Scilympiad will indicate that you need to.

All the instructions are here. Any questions? Email mtscioly@montana.edu

Student Webinar Series continues April 10 - Tournament Wisdom from the MSU Science Olympiad Club

Thanks to requests from student competitors and coaches, we launched a student webinar series this year that helps students connect with event supervisors and learn more about their events. These sessions are recorded. Students must pre-register to get the WebEx link. Visit our School Teams and Coaches page for more info and to sign up and view past sessions.


Weds., April 10 · 4-5pm ·  Tournament Wisdom with the MSU Science Olympiad Student Club. Please encourage ALL your students to attend! Our Club members have been working hard to share their tips for making the most of this amazing tournament. They were competitors themselves and have great ideas to share.


Past events (watch the recordings): Experimental Design, Tower, Wind Power

Meet the MSU Science Olympiad Club on tournament day

New this year!  MSU students who are past participants in Science Olympiad or anyone with a desire to further STEM education through a thriving Montana Science Olympiad tournament are encouraged to join the MSU Science Olympiad Student Club, inaugurated in September 2023. 


Middle and high school Science Olympiad participants are encouraged to visit with members of the club throughout the day. High school seniors who plan to attend Montana State University are encouraged to learn about the benefits of club membership.

Don't forget our FAQ page!


As coaches send questions that are helpful to everyone, we post them on the Science Olympiad FAQ page. Be sure to look here and also on the Events page for event clarifications before emailing us a question.

Remember to download the rule books and (continuously) look for event clarifications


The rule book is your friend! Download the rules manuals for the 2023-24 season from the National Science Olympiad website. Encourage your students to study every aspect of the rules - especially what safety equipment is required and what they are allowed to bring with them into the contest.


Never use a previous year's rule book, even if the event has the same title. There may be subtle and not-so-subtle changes in rules and themes from year to year.


The rules clarifications page is also your friend! As questions arise, clarifications to the rules are posted here on the national website.

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

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