WELCOME TO THE FSMS SCIENCE BOWL 2023 - 2024 SEASON AT THE FORT!


Please note that these clubs, competitions and meetings are for students. 

Parents, you are welcome to email me about any questions but I do not meet with parents during my school day for extra-curricular clubs, that time is reserved for my time to prepare for my classes and to assist parents and students for academic matters.  Email is the correspondence method and any parent meetings that are held in person will be once teams are headed to regionals and parents might need information about travel, location, format and other things related to regionals or beyond that.

Science Bowl at the Fort has been a popular club competition since it started in 2013.  Fort Settlement has attended regionals every year since 2014, won regionals four times and attended nationals in Washington DC four times.  We have won 1 National title in 2015 and placed in the top 10 in our last three visits to the competition, in 2016,2019 and 2023.

Science Bowl is a competitive team competition that involves quiz bowl buzzer like question rounds. IT IS NOT A SILENT TEST COMPETITION!!! For exact details and rules of how Science Bowl competition works check out the National Science Bowl webpage.

SCIENCE BOWL 2023 - 2024 WILL HOST A FSMS TOURNAMENT TO DETERMINE WHO WILL MAKE UP THE FSMS SCIENCE BOWL TEAMS!!! 

Students must sign up to compete in the tournament by September 5th, 2023!!!  

FSMS SCIENCE BOWL TOURNAMENT TO DETERMINE THE TOP 3 TEAMS:

Teams must sign up as a group of 5 (4 minimum) to compete in the tournament by September 5.  I have a list of students needing a team so we can put those kids as a team so they can compete in the tournament.  The tournament will run on all of the following days, from 4:20 - 6:00 pm:

9/11, 9/13, 9/18, 9/20, 9/26, 9/27

9/11 and 9/13 are Group Round Robins to determine seeding of the bracket.  The number of teams that compete this year will determine if the bracket is single elimination or double elimination. 1st place team will be team 1 , 2nd place team will be team 2.  3rd place team if it is not clear or there is a tie there will be a round to determine team 3.

AUTHENTIC COMPETITION STYLE:

The best way to do the tournament is this format - to have teams of five sign up to compete - why teams? It is important that the team is close and willing to practice outside of school beyond the weekly practice meeting at school each week. Team dynamic is very important. Teams that self-build have a stronger overall commitment to both the students and parents. It is also more likely that they have already been practicing and have determined whose best categories and roles are on a team.

EXPECTATIONS:  Good Sportsmanship Is Required!

There were some comments made about our program last year and feedback is always fine. What is never appropriate is for a parent or another student in an open forum or even a survey to make reference to another student or child in a negative manner. While you may not do well in the tournament or be on a selected team, those types of comments and that  kind of behavior are unsportsmanlike and below the caliber of our school. Every student that made our teams last year deserved to be there and deserved to compete. If you as a parent are going to let your student try out or you are a student that is going to try out, you are expected to display good sportsmanship and behavior no matter what the outcome of the tournament yields. 

CHANGE TO THE TENATIVE SCHEDULE PLEASE READ!!!

The official 1st day of the tournament is September 11th and the last day of the tournament will be on Thursday the 28th of September. 
The tournament will run Monday 9/11, 9/18, Tuesday 9/26 and every Wednesday each week until it is completed.  
 
It is important to note that although 3 teams will be registered, Texas A&M does not always approve all 3 teams to attend.  The top team, team 1 is automatically accepted while team 2 and team 3 will have to wait to see how many other schools enroll in the regional event.  Usually we do not have confirmation on team 2 until December - end of January, and team 3 usually is not notified until the very last deadline date in February passes.
 
PRACTICE:
NORMAL PRACTICE DAY IS NOW MONDAYS FROM 4:20 - 5:20 PM.
THIS IS AFTER THE TOURNAMENT DETERMINES THE TOP 3 TEAMS