Bonham Middle School Places 6th in National Science Bowl® Finals – The Bonham Middle School White Team recently competed in the National Science Bowl® Finals in Washington, D.C., bringing home 6th place in the car competition and fond memories of their community championing their dedication to science.
Their commitment paid off in Washington, D.C. when they competed with teams from across the country for a chance to prove their knowledge of these complicated and advanced science lessons they have studied for many months.
“It’s a big deal,” Kimberly Irving, Bonham science teacher and science bowl co-sponsor, explains. “They represented Texas at Nationals in this competition. Our kids ranked in the top 240 out of 15,000 students who participated overall.”
While in Washington, D.C., students met Texas Representative Mac Thornberry, taking photos with him and then taking an exclusive tour of the capitol. They also participated in a special night tour of the monuments and explored the Smithsonian’s Natural History and Air and Space museums, and American History Museum.
“The outpouring from the community has been outstanding,” Hannah Galbreath, Bonham science teacher and science bowl co-sponsor, shares. “There were a ton of students, parents, teachers and administrators who gave up their free time to help the team, watching them practice, competing against them and encouraging them in the hallways.”
The science bowl team is comprised of 6th- and 7th-grade students who are involved in all sorts of activities on campus, including choir, band and orchestra. Since the regional competition, students have worked every day after school preparing to answer science questions covered high school and college lessons.
“You would think they were burnt out, but they are all asking when we are going to start again,” Hannah boasts. “They are machines that have a high level of drive towards success, and they are just unbelievably amazing students.”
Students and their teachers practiced and studied for months leading up to the competition, answering tough science questions in round-robin and double elimination formats. Bonham faculty even competed against the science bowl team in practice competitions to build up their confidence and skillset.
The team plans to continue their studies and practices during the next school year. With a hunger for competition, these students are sure to keep impressing us with their knowledge of science.
