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Academics

Science Olympiad

TFS Science Olympiad (TFSSO)


At Tandem Friends School, Science Olympiad is an academic extracurricular activity open to all interested Upper School students (grades 9 -12). The TFSSO motto, simul invenimus (“together we discover”), emphasizes Science Olympiad as an opportunity for collaborative learning with peers and adults. While TFSSO consistently strives to excel and be competitive at tournaments, its primary goal is to facilitate students’ ability to learn something new and to engage in a process where they are constantly growing their knowledge and skills as a member of a team. Team members and coaches work together to further each others’ understanding of STEM in tandem.
At the beginning of the year, students are surveyed to learn about which events are of interest to them, what experience and prior knowledge they may have, and what their availability is. Students are then assigned to events and teams based on this survey to both match students to events of interest and to create teams that are well-balanced and capable of participating in all tournament events. Students typically participate in 2-3 events per year, though some may only ever do 1 while others may do 4 or 5.
TFSSO begins its season in September following the release of the current season’s event rules and organizes practice and preparation opportunities during the school day, after the school day, and on the weekend, with the primary prep time being scheduled for Sunday afternoons. However, TFSSO works to accommodate the schedule and time restrictions of any interested student and team members regularly participate in sports, performing arts productions, and other activities. Over the course of a season, TFSSO participates in a couple of invitational tournaments, the VASO regional tournament, and the VASO state tournament when a qualifying spot is earned.

TFSSO History & Accomplishments

TFSSO began in the 2016 - 2017 academic year, participating in the 2017 Science Olympiad season, with a full 15-person team. Since then, TFSSO consistently fielded at least one full team each season in a regional tournament and earned medals in several events, most often in “Technology and Engineering” events, and regional-level trophies several times during its history.

Historic 1st-place regional medals: 
  • Materials Science (2017)
  • Hovercraft (2018)
  • Ping-Pong Parachute (2020)
  • Forensics (2023)
  • Forestry (2024)
  • Robot Tour (2024)
Historic 2nd-place regional medals: 
  • Tower Building (2017)
  • Mission Possible (2019)
  • Ornithology (2020)
  • Detector Building (2023)
  • Green Generation (2023)
  • Trajectory (2023)
  • Codebsuters (2024)
  • Fermi Questions (2024)
  • Forensics (2024)
  • Scrambler (2024)
Historic 3rd-place regional medals:
  • Astronomy (2017)
  • Forensics (2020)
  • Ping-Pong Parachute (2020, 2022)
  • Detector Building (2022)
  • Ecology (2024)
  • Fossils (2024)
  • Tower (2024)
  • Wind Power (2024)
At VASO’s 2025 Tandem Friends Regional Tournament, TFSSO experienced record student participation by fielding two full 15-person teams, which represented 23% of the upper school student population. During the 2025 regional tournament, each member of TFSSO earned at least one medal. Further, TFSSO earned medals in every event and was the champion of VASO’s 2025 Tandem Friends Regional. Of 16 events, TFFSO earned 1st-place in the following: 
  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Chemistry Lab
  • Codebusters
  • Ecology
  • Electric Vehicle
  • Forensics
  • Fossils
  • Helicopter
  • Tower
  • Wind Power
Additionally, TFSSO qualified and competed in the VASO state tournament on numerous occasions. Since its inception, TFSSO has been able to earn state-level medals in building events, earning 2nd in Robot Arm (2017), 5th in Hovercraft (2018), 5th in WiFi Lab (2023), 5th in Flight (2024), and 2nd in Robot Tour (2024).
TFSSO began competing in invitational tournaments around Virginia in the 2025 season to further grow the program and gain experience, not only against veteran powerhouse Virginia-based programs but also against similar programs from other states. TFSSO has been able to earn medals in several events at these tournaments and earned a 5th-place trophy at the 2025 Virginia Tech Invitational tournament.

Science Olympiad Event Photos

What is Science Olympiad?

Science Olympiad is a fantastic opportunity for STEM-oriented students to explore topics not traditionally explored in a typical four-year high school program and compete with each other in tournaments. These tournaments are organized in a manner similar to track-and-field meets where schools field teams to compete in 23 events that cover a variety of STEM subjects for Middle School (Division B) and High/Upper School (Division C). These events range from taking a test to conducting lab work to building and testing mechanical devices and are organized into five main categories:
  • Life, Personal, and Social Science
  • Earth and Space Science
  • Physical Science and Chemistry
  • Technology and Engineering
  • Inquiry and Nature of Science
Teams are composed of up to 15 students, of which up to 7 can be seniors. A team can compete with far less than 15 students by focusing on participating in some of the available events rather than trying to participate in all of the events. Each event has 2-3 participants per team and the performance of those participants is evaluated within the context of that particular event. Participants who do well in an event can earn a medal for their achievement. Schools earn trophies based on a score calculated by the cumulative places earned by their students across all events, with low scores being more desirable as they reflect better placing in events (i.e., earning more 1st/2nd/3rd places). Schools that earn a sufficiently low score with their best team can earn a trophy for their effort and advance to the next level of competition.
In Virginia, official tournaments happen at two levels - regional and state. Regional tournaments are open to all schools and schools can send up to three teams to compete at the tournament. Schools then advance to the state tournament if their team score is sufficiently low enough to earn a qualifying spot. Teams can also opt into participating in “invitational” tournaments at various points in the season that provide teams with an opportunity to gain tournament experience and earn awards without impacting a team’s ability to compete in official tournaments.
To learn more about Science Olympiad and see this season’s events, visit these websites:
Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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