La Lumiere School received medals in 21 of 23 events last Saturday at the Science Olympiad Regional competition held at Goshen College. The team will head to Indiana University, Bloomington in mid-March for the State competition for the 22nd consecutive year.
In addition to placing in the top four in 21 events, La Lumiere fielded a second team that placed in five events. On the strength of 12 first place finishes, La Lumiere dominated the field that included South Bend Riley High School, South Bend Adams High School, La Porte High School and Northridge High School.
“Going up against schools 10 times our size is always great competition,” said Michael Kennedy, La Lumiere’s Headmaster. “Winning the Regional by a 30-point margin is both a blessing and a curse, we need to stay focused and continue to get better.”
Kennedy continued, “We have a culture on campus where Science Olympiad is a popular team. While in some schools an academic team gives the non-athletes an opportunity for the ‘team’ experience, I look at our team and see some of our best fall and spring athletes. We continue to improve the team and having two squads is impressive for a school of 215 students. These teams demonstrate the breadth of our students’ talents and the investment we as a School make in the area of Science.”
The following La Lumiere students earned top honors in 12 events:
First Place
Astronomy – Drew Yarger, South Bend and Neal Patel, Chesterton
Boomilever – Penfie Jian, Shandong, China
Circuit Lab – Nicolas Liu, Beijing, China and Ian Miner, Ada, Michigan
Disease Detectives – Neathie Patel, Chesterton and Richy Cains, Michigan City
Experimental Design – Neathie Patel, Chesterton, Kelly Barr, La Porte and Marina Walinski, Rolling Prairie
Fermi Questions – Drew Yarger, South Bend and Richy Cains, Michigan City
Forensics – Lucas Tang, Portage and Kelly Barr, La Porte
Gravity Vehicle – Nicolas Liu, Beijing, China
Magnetic Levitation – Lucas Tang, Portage and Drew Yarger, South Bend
Material Science – Nicolas Liu, Beijing, China and Neal Patel, Chesterton
Remote Sensing – Ikeadi Ndukwu, Chesterton and Patrick Smith, Muncie
Thermodynamics – Nicolas Liu, Beijing, China and Vesper Yun, Seoul, Korea
About La Lumiere School
La Lumiere School is a co-educational, independent boarding and day secondary school providing a college-preparatory education based in character, scholarship and faith. Our rigorous education, personal relationships, and focus on values create a rich learning environment for students. They are known by faculty, staff and other students from all grades. This familiarity enables our students to make lasting connections, engage in academics, participate socially and define their paths. Founded in the Catholic tradition in 1963, the student body consists of over 200 students from a rich diversity of backgrounds. It is situated on a beautiful rural estate, 25 miles west of South Bend, 60 miles east of Chicago, and 8 miles from both La Porte and New Buffalo. La Lumiere School is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA).
More information about La Lumiere School can be found at www.lalumiere.org