Scioly.org:Scioly Summer Study Session
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The Scioly Summer Study Session, or SSSS, is a yearly event held during the summer in preparation for the upcoming season. Users submit self-made practice tests or notes in order to gain exclusive access to other users' practice tests and notes. Once the event concludes, resources are uploaded to the Scioly.org Test Exchange, labeled as "Scioly Summer Study Session". Older tests may be found at the Test Exchange Archive.
Note that the thread for each year and the files on the wiki are named with the calendar year, while the Test Exchange headings display the season year. Hence, the SSSS thread labeled 2015, as well as tests with "SSSS15" in the name, correspond to the 2016 season, and is under "SSSS 2016" on the Test Exchange.
Guidelines
The Scioly Summer Study Session is a community event, and all members of Scioly.org are allowed to participate. However, guidelines are put into place to ensure that community members can participate in a fun and fair way. While this page may be taken as a guideline for what is expected of those who wish to submit resources, always refer to the current Scioly Summer Study Session thread for the most up to date rules.
- Do not share resources with those who are not participating. Getting access to resources is a privilege that comes from submitting materials. As a result, resources should not be shared with individuals who have not contributed.
- All resources must be homemade. While collaborating with others on resources is permissible, plagiarism is not okay and will not be accepted.
- Submit resources in PDF format. Google Docs, Microsoft Word and LibreOffice all have options to export documents in PDF format. This ensures that resources are accessible to anyone who wants to access them.
- All resources will be uploaded to the Scioly.org Test Exchange and Wiki unless otherwise specified. If a contributor does not want their resources uploaded for public access, the Scioly Summer Study Session moderators must be notified before the end of the event. Regardless of whether or not a resource is accepted by the moderators, it may be uploaded to Scioly.org for use by other competitors.
History
The Scioly Summer Study Session, formerly SOST (Scioly Online Study Tournament or Science Olympiad Summer Tournament), was created by tornadoguy, foreverphysics, and mnstrviola. After revising their original plans for a tournament-esque event and help from other members of the Scioly.org community, the idea was passed by the moderators. The first Scioly Summer Study Session began on June 1, 2013.
In late February of 2012, our esteemed member tornado guy thought, "Hey, why not have Science Olympiad during the summer too?" This idea had been floating around for a while, but he was the first to act upon it. Being one of the people closest to him on the forums, he approached me with the idea, and we then extended the idea to mnstrviola. The three of us slaved (okay, maybe just worked hard) on a set of draft rules and other logistics for months. Back then, this was called "SOST" (Science Olympiad Summer Tournament). Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, this initial idea was harshly shot down in late May by our most esteemed admin, robotman. That was that for last year [2012].
In January of this year [2013], my beloved cohead mnstrviola approached me again with the idea of making a summer Science Olympiad happen. I, of course, thought this a wonderful idea, and immediately dug up those age-old documents from the previous year. tornado guy, sadly, had vanished from the boards by this time and we could not enlist him again, though this was still originally his idea.
Now, during this time, several things happened that made this more possible than last year.
1) We fixed what they didn't like about the idea.
2) I got several important people liking the idea and backing me up.
3) Every single possible issue was covered—lotsa logistics there...
4) I became a staff member.
With the help of a few others, namely syo_astro and Unbihexium, we were able to draw up a lot of draft rules that eventually were streamlined down to those that you see today. We renamed the project SSSS, causing a lot of "sssss" head-scratching. robotman opened a server extension, and we got the rest of the staff in on it. Moderators were found, excitement was thorough, and it was generally regarded as an excellent idea. It was passed, and it was slated to begin on June 1st, 2013.
Thus SSSS began.
Since 2013, the program has run every summer. syo_astro joined as an administrator very early on in the lifespan of SSSS, and ran the program with foreverphysics until 2020. In 2020, BennyTheJett came on board as an administrator to relieve syo_astro, who was looking to step back from having as large of an administrative role. In 2022, the team of Benny, forever, and syo decided to add RiverWalker88 to the leadership team to head the new Community-Driven Exams program. SSSS is currently headed by the triumvirate of Benny, RiverWalker88, and foreverphysics. syo_astro remains active in administrator discussion, but is no longer an active administrator.
Selected Past Submissions
2016-2017 Season
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List of SSSS Moderators By Year
Note that the year listed is indicative of what year the event takes place in, not the Science Olympiad season it corresponds with.
2013