Piedmont IB, Jay M. Robinson headed for Science Olympiad nationals

Jay M. Robinson and Piedmont IB claimed top spots at state level

By Steve Lyttle
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Monday, May. 14, 2012

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Myers Park wins title

Myers Park High School has won the high-school level state championship in the second annual N.C. Association for Scholastic Activities Scholastic Cup.

That competition ranks schools in a variety of academic competitions – ranging from math and science, to chess and choir – during the year. Schools accumulate points throughout the year, and Myers Park topped the state’s high schools with 420 points. Finishing second, with 410, was the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics.

Myers Park won state titles in chess and Odyssey of the Mind.

Ardrey Kell High finished third in the state, and two other area schools – Lincolnton High and Newton-Conover High – tied for 15th.

The state middle school champion is Smith Middle from Chapel Hill. Piedmont IB Middle and Jay M. Robinson Middle tied for third place.

Two groups of students from Charlotte’s Piedmont IB and Jay M. Robinson middle schools won’t be in town for this week’s end-of-grade state tests, but their teachers probably won’t mind.

The two schools will send teams of students to the Science Olympiad National Tournament, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Piedmont and Jay M. Robinson qualified by pulling off what Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials think might be an unprecedented middle school 1-2 finish in the state tournament on April 28.

The top two finishers in the state event qualify for the Nationals, and Piedmont IB’s team took first place with 204 overall points. Jay M. Robinson was second with 216 in a competition where the lowest overall total wins.

Also finishing in the top 10 at the middle school level were J.M. Alexander Middle (fourth) and Providence Day (sixth).

CMS did not get a Nationals qualifier in the high-school division, but three Mecklenburg schools were in the top 10 – Providence Day (sixth), Ardrey Kell (seventh), and Myers Park (eighth).

Piedmont IB Middle Principal Dee Gardner says she’s thrilled with their school’s state championship.

“A lot of the other top teams have heavy involvement from teachers and parents as coaches,” Gardner said. “For us, it was mostly the teachers. They worked countless extra hours to prepare our students, and I’m so proud of them – teachers and students.

“We’ve never qualified for the Nationals before. In this competition, our students have to study, research and then do problem-solving. It tests all areas of learning.”

Seventh-grade science teacher Melanie Bell led Piedmont IB’s effort.

Reaching the Nationals is old hat for Jay M. Robinson Middle, where Kathleen Fox is principal. The school won the middle school state championship four straight years, from 2007 to 2010, and has been at the Nationals at least five times in the past 10 years.

Jay M. Robinson has finished among the top 20 teams at the nationals several times during their successful run.

Wayne Fisher, CMS’ science specialist, said he can’t recall CMS faring as well in the middle school competition.

“I believe the excellent performance by our middle school teams ... is strong evidence for the way teachers and schools have taken ownership to excite students about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math),” Fisher said.

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