LHS Science students participate in a number of team based academic competitions during the school year.
Department of Energy National Science Bowl (DOE)
TheDepartment of Energy National Science Bowl (DOE) Team is a science team thatprepares to compete in a fast-paced jeopardy-like lockout buzzer competitioncovering the areas of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Energy,Mathematics and Physics. The team competes in the Massachusetts RegionalScience Bowl competition each year in March where the first place team thenadvances to the National Science Bowl held in Washington DC. Lexington High has won the regionalbowl for the past five years and seven out of the past ten. This past MayLexington High won the National Science Bowl.
Practicesare held after school--once a week (Tuesdays, 3:00-5:00 pm after school) duringthe tryout season (Sept-Nov) and, twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) for thethree months prior to the Regional Competition (Dec-Feb). Practices model theactual competition, which consists of answering toss up and bonus questionsduring timed rounds. Students come away from the experience having learned aton of science, made great friends and ultimately having had a lot of fun. TheNational Science Bowl website is http://science.energy.gov/nsb/for more information. You may contact Alan Zhou if you have any questions about orinterest in joining the team. Thecoach of the team is Nicholas Gould.
National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB)
NOSB (the National Ocean Sciences Bowl team) is a fast-paced competitive science team at LHS for which students study all aspects of oceanography, including geology, marine biology, marine technology, history and social sciences, physical and chemical oceanography, and marine policy. Students try out for the team in September and October, leading to the selection of one or two competing teams of five students each. The regional competition, the Blue Lobster Bowl, is held on a Saturday in early February at MIT. Practices are held after school--once a week (Fridays, 3:00-5:00 pm after school) during the tryout season, twice a week (Wednesdays and Fridays) for the two months leading up to the Blue Lobster Bowl.
Practices model the actual competition, which consists of buzzer rounds (toss-up and bonus questions) and team challenge questions. A correct answer for a toss-up question from an individual student earns a bonus question for the team. Team challenge questions are completed between the two buzzer rounds. The overall competition is in round-robin format for the morning of competition, followed by single- or double-elimination in the afternoon rounds to determine the final outcome.
Team members are expected to attend practices and to write study questions for practices each week. The team is student-led, with team captains taking responsibility for organizing practices, communicating with team members, etc.
The NOSB team has won the Blue Lobster Bowl competition three of the last four years, and has placed second, second and fourth at the national competitions. For more information, check out the NOSB website (nosb.org). Interested students may also contact one of our team captains: Anish Kanesa-Thasan (akanesathasan@gmail.com) or Anna Yang (saturn88119@gmail.com). Coaches for the NOSB are Dr. Sarah Damassa and Dr. Avon Lewis.
Environthon
Coach: Mr. Wilkins (classroom 319, office 300)
The Envirothon is America’s leading natural resource education program for high school students. Teams, comprised of five students, (2 alternates) represent their school or organization in a statewide competition during the second week of May which tests their knowledge of aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and current environmental issues in both a theoretical and hands-on manner.
Weekly practices are held during X-block (Wednesdays) and Friday afternoons in room 319. Practices may include field trips to analyze water quality, wading through rivers identifying aquatic insects and plants, Analyzing physical and chemical properties of the soil, reviewing previous reading materials, PowerPoint presentations or having quiz bowl type review competitions. A series of exams are given throughout the first part of the year and the top 5 scorers are chosen to represent the school at the competition time.
Team members are expected to attend practices and to prepare ahead of time for the upcoming practice sessions. Preparation may include reviewing power point presentations, reading articles and creating questions for review during the practice sessions.
Over the last 5 years the team has won the state competition 3 times and has placed 6, 10 and 14 at the national level against upwards of 60 teams. Any interested students may contact the team captain: Grace Ma magrace9@gmail.com
The team coach is Steven Wilkins.
TheLexington Nick Barnett Science Olympiad (LNBSO) Team
For additional information, please contact one of the captains: Tim Zhu, Michaela Masson, Kathleen Li, Anna Papp or Anish Kanesa-Thasan. The club is advised by Mr. Wininger.
