Nanuet Knights Excel at This Year’s Competitions

As the year draws to a close, we’ve seen the conclusion of various competitions and leagues in the school. Luckily, most competitions went off without a hitch and Nanuet teams excelled. 

Mr. Campanella, advisor of Nanuet’s Math League team, said that despite this year’s challenges, the team has had a great year. 

“Given the circumstances, it went very well,” he said. “Our participation was down a bit, but we hope to engage more students next year.”

Many meets and competitions that would regularly take place in person were held virtually. Students competed from home in the same way they would compete in person. 

“The students enjoy the ability to socialize with teammates during the league meets,” said Mr. Campanella. “Not having that piece [of in-person interaction] took some of the fun out of it this year.”

DECA allows students to participate in business-related competitions requiring firm leadership and celebrating presentation and quick thinking. DECA has had an excellent turnout this year, according to Mrs. Svara, who leads Nanuet’s DECA team. 

“We filled up most of our competition slots,” she said. “We had about 20 students win medals, and we had a really great regional competition.”

Junior Noah Philips placed second on a state level this year for Nanuet, high enough to qualify for nationals.

“Usually our competitions involve travel off-site,” said Mrs. Svara. “Our regional competition is at Rockland Community College, [and] our state competition involves a trip to Rochester, and then the national competition is usually a pretty neat destination.” 

Holding the competitions virtually this year took away from the usual atmosphere, but was important for safety purposes, added Mrs. Svara. 

As the year comes to an end, preparations for the 2021-2022 school year are already under way, according to Mr. Barone. Science Olympiad was unable to compete in in- person competitions like with other clubs in events such as building towers and other hands-on events.

“We are ready to proceed virtually or in-person next year,” he said. “The advisors from around the county will meet this summer to get ready for next school year.”  

As much of the academic world has come to realize, Zoom and other online meet platforms are far from stable at times. Despite the difficulties, Nanuet’s Knights managed to charge through another season.

“This year’s science Olympiad virtual meetings and competition came with many challenges,” Mr. Barone said, “some very hard to overcome.”

While the unprecedented conditions still linger, Nanuet’s Knights had an excellent year and are suiting up for the 2021-2022 season.