SSES students placed second overall at the Spoonbill Regional of the National Ocean Science Bowl at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg, Feb. 11-12. It was the highest-ever finish in the competition by a Saint Stephen’s team. Falcons Braden Mohr, Devin Mohr, Dillon Ogle, and Matthew Talbot finished tied with the Academy of Environmental Science (Crystal River) in the championship game and eventually fell by one point in an edge-of-your-seat, sudden-death overtime.

The Spoonbill Bowl consists of round-robin and single-elimination games for teams of high school students. The format involves a timed competition of multiple-choice or short-answer questions within the broad category of the oceans. Questions are drawn from the scientific and technical disciplines used in studying the oceans (physics, chemistry, geology, atmospheric science, biology, etc.) as well as topics on the contributions of the oceans to national and international economics, history, and culture.

The Saint Stephen’s One Ocean Marine Science program was well represented by the nine students who participated in the annual event, along with teachers Allison Misiewicz and Jessica Angelo. The NOSB is designed to introduce high school students to and engage them in ocean science, preparing them for ocean science-related and other STEM careers, and helping them become knowledgeable citizens and environmental stewards.