Pacifica Stories

Pacifica’s STEM department offers engaging and fun extracurriculars for students to join!

Science Olympiads
Science Olympiad is an academic extracurricular in which students gather notes and study for months before competing in regional and national competitions. Within these competitions there are 23 STEM tests that may consist of a test and/or a device that needs to be built. Students then form groups of 2-3 members, choose which events interest them most, and study up on the provided topics. These topics are college-level in difficulty, and require both preparation and teamwork.

At Pacifica, our Scioly team consists of ten members: captain and Pacifica senior Mei Zhong; co-captain and senior Claire Gerold; senior Frances Abu-Shanab; juniors Ellie Knight, Mikayla Moynihan, and Bella Lingel; and lastly, sophomores Drew Gerold, Elijah Segal, Isabel Milner, and Vyvien Estes. 

“My favorite part of Science Olympiad is the people and the laughs we have as a team,” said co-captain Claire Gerold. “It becomes a super fun and supportive environment and community that makes going to competitions fun, even if the competitions involve taking tests for hours.”

In addition to note-taking, studying, and preparing for competitions, the students in Science Olympiad create time for fun together. The group gathered at the home of Claire and Drew Gerold to participate in their first virtual competition of the season, and in between tests, they watched movies, played games, and bonded with each other. Overall, the club develops friendships as well as academic skills. 

“As a part of Science Olympiad, we learn to have resilience, especially when the subjects of the tests we are taking are completely foreign to us,” Gerold said. “The tests we take are usually very difficult, so learning to not lose hope even if we don't understand the tests is very important.”

Junior Ellie Knight shared about what she has gotten out of Science Olympiad: “I developed skills of note taking, cooperation, and critical thinking. The Scioly tests require you to take your knowledge and apply it to very obscure problems. I also learned how to take a test with another person which was a really cool learning experience.”

Scioly Competition
In March, the members of Pacifica’s SciOly team traveled to the Southern California Regional Tournament. In preparation for the competition, students did a hybrid of in-person meetings and online study sessions on their chosen topics. They also worked to prepare notes sheets that they are permitted to use during the tests. Science Olympiad captain Mei Zhong says that the final step of preparation is when “the student coach signs the team up for invitations which prepare [the students] like a test before the final.”

This year, Pacifica placed 35 out of 58 teams, with some pairs placing in the top 20. Sophomores Drew Gerold and Elijah Segal placed 6th in the write-to-do-it event at their first tournament. We are so proud of these students for their hard work and diligence!

Hydrogen Car Club
Pacifica also offers the Hydrogen Car Club. Students in this extracurricular spend the year constructing a remote-controlled hydrogen-powered car that then competes against other schools in the Spring. Team members at Pacifica include our team leader, senior Michael Belachew; the drivers Logan Scott and Sam Roberts; the pit crew, including Roman Lenz, Stratton Chanes, Andrew Grinsfelder, and Luka Vasaynov as an alternate; and lastly, the support team consisting of Sophie Fischette, Andrea Astle, and Avie Saini. They’re led by Pacifica’s incredible engineering teacher and faculty sponsor of the club, Doc Sumida.

Regional Competition
In early March, the Hydrogen Racing Team competed in the SoCal regional heats. This consisted of a two-hour endurance race in which teams are ranked by the total number of laps completed in the time period. Throughout the weekend, three heats were completed on Saturday with two remaining heats on Sunday. 

On Saturday, Pacifica’s team completed 213 laps, but encountered a few front-end mechanical issues. After making some repairs, they were back on the track on Sunday. They held a first place position for about 10 laps, but suffered a mechanical failure that put them in the pit for about half an hour. Their final lap count was 234, which set a new school record but did not advance the team to State. What a run! We are incredibly impressed with this group of students and greatly enjoy seeing their love of STEM continue outside the classroom.