Powerhouse B Schools
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Powerhouse B Schools
Hi everyone- I was wondering why and how certain schools, especially those in division B manage to stay dominant for so long. With division C schools it makes more sense, since they have an influx of experienced SciOly members who already “know” their event strengths and subjects; but B schools are always dealing with new students who haven’t done SciOly before. Certainly there is always variation in the B teams in terms of dedication, work ethic, prior knowledge, etc. so how are the powerhouse schools able to constantly turn them into successful SciOly teams year after year? Is it the coaching? The team selection?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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- sciolyperson1
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
TheMadScientist wrote: ↑September 16th, 2019, 11:30 am Hi everyone- I was wondering why and how certain schools, especially those in division B manage to stay dominant for so long. With division C schools it makes more sense, since they have an influx of experienced SciOly members who already “know” their event strengths and subjects; but B schools are always dealing with new students who haven’t done SciOly before. Certainly there is always variation in the B teams in terms of dedication, work ethic, prior knowledge, etc. so how are the powerhouse schools able to constantly turn them into successful SciOly teams year after year? Is it the coaching? The team selection?
Thanks!
Lol, you're from div B nj
Div C school thread: viewtopic.php?t=14713
Google sheet I made bc i have no life: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 1355822720 . It lists top 10 placements for all ever top 10 placing schools in the past decade, ranking them in a similar fashion to the link from the div c thread. Take a look at the three/four year rankings sheet.
For CMS, we've had I think around 3? different coaches. Team selection is wack as heck. I feel like its more about the competitive and asian demographic in the region...
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
You might get some stick for that. And I'm sure that regions that don't have a very large Asian demographic consistently do well. Unlike West Windsor....sciolyperson1 wrote: ↑September 16th, 2019, 3:52 pm For CMS, we've had I think around 3? different coaches. Team selection is wack as heck. I feel like its more about the competitive and asian demographic in the region...
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
It's something called a "joke", I'm sure others will get the joke as well.You might get some stick for that.
Much of central NJ has schools with a large asian demographic, as well as competitive school districts. In fact, many school districts such as Montgomery, Edison, and other Middlesex county school districts have a similar, if not higher asian demographic. By no means does this reflect how the school does; if it did, then CMS certainly wouldn't do well.And I'm sure that regions that don't have a very large Asian demographic consistently do well. Unlike West Windsor....
However, if I were to say the same about northern NJ/Newark, id be wrong, as schools in the area obviously do not have a similar diversity spectrum as central NJ schools, but I obviously stated "In the region", so there's wrong nothing with stating facts lol
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- megrimlockawesom
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
My middle school had a rigorous practice schedule as well as a rigorous tryouts process to ensure we were getting the best members possible. We would meet every saturday (except on holidays) and practice each event block for 1 hour. Tryouts took place from september to december during which we would have one mock competition and we would all go to one regionals-level invitational. The JV and Varsity teams would be selected in DecemberTheMadScientist wrote: ↑September 16th, 2019, 11:30 am Hi everyone- I was wondering why and how certain schools, especially those in division B manage to stay dominant for so long. With division C schools it makes more sense, since they have an influx of experienced SciOly members who already “know” their event strengths and subjects; but B schools are always dealing with new students who haven’t done SciOly before. Certainly there is always variation in the B teams in terms of dedication, work ethic, prior knowledge, etc. so how are the powerhouse schools able to constantly turn them into successful SciOly teams year after year? Is it the coaching? The team selection?
Thanks!
We were also encouraged to study and work on our builds outside of the time we had on Saturdays, and we also went to a lot of invitationals. So I would say it's one part team structure, one part coaching, and one part work ethic.
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
I think it's mainly that the good 7th/8th graders with experience can set an example of how to study, and how much you need to study to get a good placing. Also, if these teams are really competitive when you enter, the reason they'll still be competitive by the time you leave is there's always tough competition to get on the team which makes everyone work harder. Also, the better scioly teams probably attract almost all the kids who would be good at it at that school, while worse ones might be overlooked by serious students who would benefit the team
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
A lot of it is simply finding kids who are dedicated to the cause. It's pretty easy since our coach teaches science for the 6th graders here and recruits a lot of them to do SciOly (hence why we have 3 Div B teams, typically one being entirely 6th graders). It's really good to get kids in as soon as you can, so they know how fun SciOly is and want to do it in the future. This creates a lot of stronger 7/8/9th graders who you can stack a Div B team with.
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
We have a decently sized Division A program here in Virginia, and one reason why schools like Longfellow are able to become so good and stay good is because the elementary schools that participate in Division A feed into them - exposure to scioly at a young age definitely helps.
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
I have also noticed that Virginia has an unusually large amount of elementary schools that compete in Division B (i.e. Churchill Road, Louise Archer, Colvin Run).MacintoshJosh wrote: ↑February 24th, 2020, 3:46 pm We have a decently sized Division A program here in Virginia, and one reason why schools like Longfellow are able to become so good and stay good is because the elementary schools that participate in Division A feed into them - exposure to scioly at a young age definitely helps.
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Re: Powerhouse B Schools
Yeah, and they actually do pretty well! I'm curious what would happen if an elementary school somehow won States in Virginia, as I'm not too clear on how the National Science Olympiad Board views/regulates elementary schools competing in Div B.Tailsfan101 wrote: ↑February 24th, 2020, 4:01 pmI have also noticed that Virginia has an unusually large amount of elementary schools that compete in Division B (i.e. Churchill Road, Louise Archer, Colvin Run).MacintoshJosh wrote: ↑February 24th, 2020, 3:46 pm We have a decently sized Division A program here in Virginia, and one reason why schools like Longfellow are able to become so good and stay good is because the elementary schools that participate in Division A feed into them - exposure to scioly at a young age definitely helps.
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