Congratulations to three Oxford Middle School students for their performance at the You Be the Chemist Challenge (YBTCC) held in Midland last Saturday.
OMS eighth-graders T.J. Bearse, Alyssa Lopez and Mark Schonfeld competed against 24 other students from 12 different school districts in Michigan.
The three were chosen to represent Oxford at the state level after qualifying at the YBTCC county competition held at Oakland University last month.
At the state challenge, Schonfeld ended up tied for 11th place and Bearse was tied for 12th. Lopez was unsure of what she placed, although she did score a 99 percent on her qualifying exam for the county challenge.
During the three-round challenge, students competed on an individual basis by answering various chemistry questions.
Although the answers were multiple choice, OMS science teacher Ron Roop said some of the questions were very challenging. ‘I was very pleased and proud of how the kids did,? he said.
One thing Bearse said he learned from the challenge was to always be prepared no matter what.
He was supposed to serve as an alternate in case one of the others couldn’t be at the competition, but ended up being able to compete himself.
‘I really should’ve studied more during the week,? he joked.
TheYBTCC, which is sponsored by the Chemical Educational Foundation, promotes the science of chemistry, the benefits of chemicals and the importance of chemical safety awareness.
The academic competition engages students in learning in a fun and innovative medium.