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Lee Early College wins at Science Olympiad

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Click to enlarge, Lee Early College's Science Olympiad team shows off its medals and second-place trophy at the Regional Science Olympiad Competition, held Feb. 18 at Campbell University. The team won one first-place, two second-place, three third-place and four fourth-place medals, earning it a place at the North Carolina State Science Olympiad Tournament in April. The team coach is Rodney Schmitz (back right), LEC chemistry teacher.

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Lee Early College's Science Olympiad team shows off its medals and second-place trophy at the Regional ... (more)

Click to enlarge, Lee Early College students Riley Gray (left) and Sarah Poe prepare for 'Storm the Castle,' their event at the Feb. 18 Regional Science Olympiad Competition, held at Campbell University. Gray and Poe's trebuchet took third-place in the event, which required teams to build a device capable of launching a projectile. The whole LEC team placed second overall, earning the right to go on to the North Carolina State Science Olympiad Tournament in April.

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Lee Early College students Riley Gray (left) and Sarah Poe prepare for 'Storm the Castle,' their event ... (more)

Click to enlarge, Lee Early College students Payton Fowler (left) and Stephanie Milosh are all smiles as they display their first-place medals from the Feb. 18 Regional Science Olympiad Competition, held at Campbell University. The students competed in 'Write It, Do It,' an event that required one team member to describe a constructed object in writing. Her partner then had to build the object using only the written description. LEC's 17-member Science Olympiad team took second place overall at the competition, earning the right to go on to the North Carolina State Science Olympiad Tournament in April. LEC placed in nine of the 23 regional events, earning one first-place, two second-place, three third-place and four fourth-place medals.

click image to enlarge ⊗

Lee Early College students Payton Fowler (left) and Stephanie Milosh are all smiles as they display ... (more)

Click to enlarge, Lee Early College students Kim Cherry (left) and Christa Rhinehart show off their second-place winning tower for the 'Towers' construction competition at the Feb. 18 Regional Science Olympiad Competition, held at Campbell University. The tower could only be constructed of wood and glue and had to be designed to hold a minimum of 15 kilograms. LEC's 17-member Science Olympiad team took second place overall at the competition, earning the right to go on to the North Carolina State Science Olympiad Tournament in April. LEC placed in nine of the 23 regional events, earning one first-place, two second-place, three third-place and four fourth-place medals.

click image to enlarge ⊗

Lee Early College students Kim Cherry (left) and Christa Rhinehart show off their second-place winning ... (more)

03.07.2012 • College & Community • Lee Early College

SANFORD - Lee Early College's Science Olympiad team has earned a place at the North Carolina State Science Olympiad Tournament, thanks to a second-place win at the Regional Science Olympiad Competition, held Feb. 18 at Campbell University.

Nineteen teams from around the region competed in a total of 23 events. LEC's 17-student team participated in all the events, placing in nine of them. The school earned one first-place, two second-place, three third-place and four fourth-place medals. The team's combined scores earned it the overall second place, a new trophy for the LEC trophy case, and the slot at the state tournament.

"All 17 members of the team were essential for accomplishing this feat," said Rodney Schmitz, LEC chemistry teacher and Science Olympiad coach. "Our entire team was unbelievably dedicated and worked well together."

The team members worked tirelessly for months to prepare for the competitions. They stayed after school flying hand-made helicopters, tweaking bottle rockets, measuring distances for the gravity machine, and carrying out other activities to ensure that their Olympiad entries were competitive.

Schmitz said that not only was he excited that LEC move to the state competition, but he was also glad to see that Lee County High School also competed in the Olympiad.

"My ultimate goal is for Lee County to have a strong Science Olympiad program throughout all grade levels," he said.

Lee Early College is a collaboration of Lee County Schools and Central Carolina Community College. The school opened in 2006 and is located at the college's Lee County Campus. Students enter as ninth graders and, within five years, can earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree. There is no cost to the students or families.

For more information about Lee Early College, visit www.leeearlycollege.com.

For more information about Science Olympiad, visit www.sciencenc.com.