Natomas High Places At Science Bowl

BY SAVNEET TAKHAR, NATOMAS HIGH INTERN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ

Natomas High School placed among the top 10 finalists at last month’s Sacramento Regional “Science Bowl.”

Two dozen “Science Bowl” teams from the greater Sacramento area faced off on Feb. 4 at Rio Americano High School to compete and showcase their science and math knowledge.

This year was the first “Science Bowl” competition for Natomas High School.

The Natomas High “Free Radicals” team placed in the 6-8 pool among 24 other area schools — many better known for math and science academics — from Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Yolo, Sacramento, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, and Tuolumne counties.

The Natomas High team was among the most diverse with an equal balance of gender and intellectuality. It was also considered by judges to be one of the most spirited teams demonstrating good sportsmanship.

Team members included students Lauren Harris, Francisco Chima, Christopher Yee, and Savneet Takhar; one alternate Sarah Mejia; and coach Ben Glidewell.

“We have intellectually-driven students at this campus,” said Glidewell, chemistry teacher at Natomas High. “It is nice to see these students create a positive and more realistic identity of the school for the community.”

The team said they participated in “Science Bowl” with hopes of starting a new tradition for Natomas High School students.

The National Science Bowl, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is a competitive science education and academic rivalry among teams of high school students which compete in a fast-paced verbal forum to solve technical, theoretical, and computational problems. Teams answer questions in all strands of science and math in a limited amount of time — usually 5 to 30 seconds per question. 

Chima said he hopes the team’s success helps change students’ images of themselves and their school. 

“We look forward to unveiling the realistic, constructive side of Natomas High— a side that is too often veiled by too old stereotypes,” he said.