When Mildred Castaneda first joined the Syosset Science Olympiad team 10 years ago, the school had only competed at the national level once in the program’s history.
Casaneda said it was her goal to get the team to the national level once more. Now, a decade later, she has brought them to the national level three consecutive times from 2023 to now.
Castaneda, who has taught chemistry at the high school for the past 23 years, said that students “rise to the challenge.”
The STEM competition, which aims to promote student teamwork and learning, has been a Syosset tradition for over 40 years and started in 1984, when the organization was founded.
By 1986, the high school’s team made it to the national competition, Castaneda said.
However, Syosset didn’t return to the national level until 2023, she said.
Since then, they’ve made it every year. The first time the students went to nationals, they placed 13th, and the second time, they placed 6th. This year, the team placed 18th in the nation, which is impressive considering that, with many of the team members graduating, it was almost an entirely new team, Castaneda said.
Castaneda said each Science Olympiad competition has 23 events, all of which fall into the study, hybrid, or build categories. She said all of the categories require problem-solving and teamwork.
“Teamwork is a required skill in most scientific careers today, and Science Olympiad encourages group learning by designing events that forge alliances,” the Science Olympiad website says. Over 6,600 teams compete in over 400 tournaments throughout the country, the website says.
Castaneda said she has focused on the build categories during team practices to become a more competitive team, as that is the component that students struggle with the most.
To help with that, she said the school has introduced four 3D printers to the team for hands-on practice, among other practice policies.
Approximately 11% of the students who try out for the team get to compete each year. Castaneda said approximately 400 students test for the Science Olympiad team, and of that, only 75 advance. Of that 75, just 45 students compete.
The high school has three Science Olympiad teams: a varsity, junior varsity, and apprentice team.
Castaneda said the teams attend 10 invitational, or practice sessions, each year. From there, they compete at the regional and state levels. If they earn first or second place at states, which they have for the past three years, they advance to nationals.
Castaneda said the team practices between three and six times a week to prepare for all of the invitationals and competitions throughout the year, with students coming in on weekends and school breaks if necessary.
“They’re very goal-oriented,” Castaneda said.
Castaneda said the team’s motto is “Success is not an option. It’s an obligation.” She said the motto refers not only to the score but also to the process students took to get there.
“Did you do your best? Are you proud of yourself? Is that your success? And if it is, then great. That’s your obligation,” she said.
But more than an extracurricular activity, Castaneda said, the team is a source of great community for the students. Although the students spend time studying together, both in and out of practice, she said there are many events that the students participate in to form connections amongst each other.
“We have meals together at all our invitationals,” she said.
She said the students throw a SciOly Formal each year, where underclassmen present graduating seniors with gifts, and parents bring food for the students to enjoy.
Superintendent Thomas Rogers attends, as do many of the staff members involved. Castaneda said over 60 Syosset staff members are involved in the team, chaperoning and running the events throughout the year.
However, Castaneda said the road doesn’t end here for the team. She said her goal is to make it to nationals for over ten consecutive years.
And clearly, she isn’t the only one with that goal for the team. Castaneda said the students have already written “351 days until nationals” on the whiteboard in their practice room, ready to take on the competition next year.
“They expect to go to nationals,” she said. “They’re fully committed.”
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