“Feel free to go forward!”

The results of the district stage of the Biological Olympiad in Zoology in category F were officially published on the Edupage website. A 9th grade student from our school, Katarina Alzhbeta Florekova, became the winner and in 3 weeks will take part in the regional stage. This is Katarina’s second victory. Last year she participated in the same Olympiad and was the first.

This Olympiad is quite complex. Although it is thematic (this year about the organisms of aquatic and semi-aquatic areas) and concerns only zoological issues, but you need to know a lot from this. For example, you need to be able to identify 50 species of different animals at all stages of their development, from eggs (spawn) to adults, from photographs and voices; know the classification of these organisms in Latin and Slovak from phylum to species; know the features of their structure, behavior, vital processes, reproduction and lifestyle; complete the practical part; complete a project – observation and collection of data on 10 organisms, drawing up a map of their location.

Practical preparation for the Olympiad begins a year in advance, since it is necessary to collect information about 10 species (photos, traces of vital activity, plaster casts of animal footprints). Theoretical training begins in the summer on your own and in September with a teacher. All this requires enormous effort and time from the student. I asked Katarina a few questions.

S.D. – Why did you decide to start participating in such a rather difficult Olympiad?

K.F. – I like biology, nature, especially animals, and I want to learn more about it. It’s so interesting to watch them in nature, to see how they live and develop.

S.D. – Preparing for the Olympiad is labor-intensive. How did you deal with this?

K.F. — The most important thing is to create a daily action plan: what to read, what videos to watch, what to learn, etc. and check the results every evening. If I didn’t have time to do something, I review the tasks for the next days.

S.D. – What influence does preparation for the Olympics have on you?

K.F. – Over these two years, my positive “I” began to develop significantly. I learned how to plan and manage my time; I learn to work effectively with large amounts of information; my memory has improved significantly; my logical and analytical thinking has also improved; I became more attentive, learned to notice details, became more diligent and patient. I like the positive changes in me.

S.D. – What advice would you give to the students of our school?

K.F. – Feel free to go forward! How great it is to know and understand a lot and be proud of yourself!

Katarina said good words. Every student at our school can achieve success in competitions. Every teacher at our school is ready to support the aspirations of students and help them achieve their goals.

Let’s continue our tradition: “Participate and Win!”