New Winners of the Biology Olympiad

Last week, two students from our school, Adam (10th grade) and Greta (8th grade), took part in the second (district) round of the Biology Olympiad, organized by the Slovak Ministry of Education. From October to March we studied zoology together twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays). Several months ago, they successfully completed the first round at school and were invited to the second round in Malacky, where Adam took first place and Greta took third. We will have more detailed information about the results from our students.

Adam –

Me and my sister were chosen by Mrs Svetlana to do the Biology Olympiad about animals, their habitat, and facts about them. We got a list of 50 animals from Slovakia and there were several endangered ones also included. I learned the list of the 50 animals and for each one I had to know their habitat, lifestyle, and scientific names in both Slovak and Latin which was quite overwhelming. This all made studying more challenging than I thought it would be because it included a lot of reading and memorization and it was in Slovak language, which I am not used to studying. I often had to repeat the same material many times and it was difficult to keep all of the information in my head. The most fun part was going out into the woods, sand dunes, and more to go searching for animals I had been learning about throughout 5 months. After capturing 10 animals in their habitat I arranged the information to make a booklet naming them, showing pictures, and where I found them. When I went to the district round I thought I would not score too high because I was not confident enough. When the results came in I was glad to see I got first place. In conclusion the Biology Olympiad involved a lot of studying, memorization but I also enjoyed parts when we went into nature. 

Greta –

When we first heard that we would be going to a biology olympiad, it didn’t sound very exciting, and honestly felt a bit overwhelming. But after we started preparing and actually finished it, it didn’t seem so bad anymore. Ms. Svetlana helped us a lot by giving us extra work and practice so we could be ready. It was sometimes hard and stressful because of the amount of work and tests we had, but we still managed it. We also spent extra time preparing every Monday after school and Wednesday morning. On the day of the olympiad, we arrived at a school in Malacky at around 8 a.m. We were placed in two different rooms, and the olympiad lasted about one and a half to two hours. At first, we thought we did really badly, but in the end, it turned out we didn’t do as badly as we expected.

Thank you guys for your hard work and great results. We are proud of you!