Clayton High School, Villa Duchesne Win WYSE Math-Science Challenge

St. Louis Regional Held at McKendree University on Feb. 8

Lebanon, Ill. — More than 200talented students from 10 St. Louis area high schools competed at McKendree University on Feb. 8 in the St. Louis Regional tournament of the 2013 Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge. Clayton High School took top team honors in the large school division and Villa Duchesne won the small school division.

The participating high schools were Chaminade, Clayton, Gibault Catholic, Hancock, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Notre Dame, St. Joseph’s Academy, Trinity Catholic, Villa Duchesne-Oak Hill and Visitation Academy.

The university has hosted the competition since 2004. Dr. Jim Feher, professor of computer science and computer information systems at McKendree, is chairman of the WYSE advisory board. “It is exciting to see so many students compete and be recognized for their academic achievement,” he said.

The purpose of WYSE is to advance excellence in science and mathematics and to promote careers in engineering and the sciences. The Academic Challenge is a competitive series of multiple-choice tests in seven subjects, designed to motivate talented high school students to higher achievement in science and math.

Competing individually and as varsity and junior varsity teams in divisions based on their school’s enrollment size, students take tests in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, math and physics. Test material is drawn from senior high school and freshman level college curricula and written by college and university faculty. Exams of increasing levels of difficulty are given at the regional, sectional and state finals.

Teams and individual students placing first and second will go on to compete at the sectional level with a chance of advancing to the state finals at the Missouri University of Science & Technology.

More than 230 students from southwestern Illinois high schools will take part in the WYSE Academic Challenge’s Illinois sectional at McKendree University on March 11.

Photo of Chaminade 2013