J.T. Lambert Intermediate School

J.T. Lambert Science Olympiad logo

The John T. Lambert Intermediate School team is located just outside the borough of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania [1]. This school is located in the East Stroudsburg Area School District. They participate in the competitive Northeast region [2]. They have qualified for states for five of the last seven years and look to continue their current streak of three next year. Their sibling school, East Stroudsburg High School South, has yet to reach the state level. But with the strong J. T. Lambert Intermediate team, this could change in the next few years.

School Info

J.T. Lambert is a school that teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, and the team therefore composes of students from these grades (they have rarely, if ever, had 9th graders on the team). The school was built in 1992 to help with the large increase of students, and it is now one of two intermediate schools in the district. There are an approximate 1,200 students who attend this school, and they pride themselves on academic excellence and character education. Their mascot is the Cavalier, and their colors are purple and white, both of which are the same as the South high school.

History

Results since 2002-2003

Year	Rustin	Comet	Regionals	States	Nationals
2003	did not attend	did not attend	6th	10th	Never made it
2004			2nd	6th
2005			9th	N/A
2006			7th	N/A
2007			5th	11th
2008			4th (135)	6th (256)
2009			4th (135)*	9th (343)
2010			1st (75)*	5th (320)
2011	8th (201)	2nd (43)	1st (95)*	10th (344)
2012	X		4th (170)	13th (392)
2013	11th (333)	4th (156)

• total scores are in parentheses
• invitational names are in brackets

(*an event was not held, so the score is out of 22 events)

X- event was canceled due to inclement weather

Highlights

1st	J.T. Lambert Intermediate School came in 1st place at the Northeast Pennsylvania Regionals in 2010.

1st	J.T. Lambert Intermediate School came in 1st place at the Northeast Pennsylvania Regionals in 2011.

6th	J.T. Lambert Intermediate School came in 6th place at Pennsylvania States in 2004.

6th	J.T. Lambert Intermediate School came in 6th place at Pennsylvania States in 2008.

5th	J.T. Lambert Intermediate School came in 5th place at the 2010 PA States.

The Early Years

The first several years of the team's existence, the team was not as competitive as they are at the present time. Most of the time, they placed in the bottom half of their region, as they were only serious about a few of the events. It was thought of more as a casual club than a true team. The results were so terrible that they cannot be posted on the table.

2003-2006

In 2003, however, a new trend was started. The new coach, who was formerly an assistant, started to make the team a contender in their region. These first two years were the beginnings of a competitor. In 02-03 the team seemingly came out of nowhere to finish 10th at states, led by two especially dedicated 7th graders. The next year, they built on this, finishing 2nd in the region and 6th at states, again led by the same participants, now 8th graders. This let many teams in Pennsylvania know that a new team had emerged from its cocoon into being one of the better teams in the state.

After these team leaders graduated, however, the team went into two years of struggling, finishing 9th and 7th in the two years, respectively. Since the state qualification mark was the top 6 in the region (now top 5), they missed the cut both years. The team was mostly forgotten outside the region, and the years of success they had were starting to be considered as a fluke.

2007-2008

Later, however, a new core of students led the team back into respectability. The hungry team made states by placing 5th in the region, and made a decent impression at states, finishing 11th. This was quite good for a team that had not visited states for three years, but they had loftier goals than placing eleventh. They wanted to break the top 10 and be recognized to the entire state. The next year, led by two 8th grade co-captains (one of which was EASTstroudsburg13) they worked hard towards their goal. During the competition season, they entered the pantheon of top teams in the state, finishing 4th in the region and 6th in the state, tying their best state finish ever at that point. Their score at states, 256, remains the best score at states ever for JTL. Hawke245, hemi382, airplanesrule, and starsky133 were members of both of these teams. 49ers and NEO Awesomeness were also members of the 2008 team.

<spoiler text="2008 Event Places">

2008 Event Places

Event	Regionals	States
Amphibians & Reptiles	13th	9th
Anatomy	13th	10th
Balloon Launch Glider	3rd	12th
Bio-Process Lab	1st	7th
Crave the Wave	4th	14th
Disease Detectives	7th	4th
Ecology	10th	11th
Food Science	4th	10th
Meteorology	1st	5th
Metric Mastery	1st	27th
Mystery Architecture	18th	27th
Oceanography	1st	4th
Reach for the Stars	2nd	3rd
Road Scholar	2nd	6th
Robo-Cross	3rd	9th
Rocks and Minerals	3rd	4th
Science Crime Busters	4th	10th
Science Word	7th	11th
Scrambler	11th	18th
Simple Machines	6th	24th
Tower Building	3rd	12th
Trajectory	6th	12th
Write It Do It	12th	7th
Total	135	256

</spoiler>

2009-2010

After the departure of a highly successful eighth grade core, the past year's team tried to establish itself as a constant force. They continued their winning streak at regionals, again finishing 4th and gaining 11 medals altogether. After this success, they set their sights on trying to improve for the state competition. There, they finished in 9th place, once again making an impact among the top teams in the state. In doing so they proved that they are a team to watch, but because they had most of the team returning, they set their sights on even higher glory the coming year.

<spoiler text="2009 Event Results">

2009 Event Places

Event	Regionals	States
Amphibians & Reptiles	5th	17th
Anatomy	5th	25th
Bio-Process Lab	12th	12th
Compute This	1st	8th
Crave the Wave	4th	9th
Disease Detectives	11th	9th
Dynamic Planet	6th	30th
Ecology	2nd	16th
Elevated Bridge	3rd	2nd
Environmental Chemistry	2nd	26th
Experimental Design	6th	34th
Fossils	2nd	3rd
Meteorology	13th	10th
Pentathlon	*	22nd
Physical Science Lab	1st	12th
Reach for the Stars	7th	22nd
Road Scholar	2nd	6th
Robo-Cross	7th	11th
Science Crime Busters	2nd	9th
Scrambler	3rd	5th
Trajectory	21st^	23rd
Wright Stuff	3rd	9th
Write It Do It	17th	23rd
Total	135	343

-*event was not held due to construction on campus

-^device was disqualified due to lateness of impound. If device was not disqualified it would have placed 2nd in the event. Thus, the team would have placed 1st in the region.

</spoiler> The core of the team entered 2010 knowing about their potential to do well in states, and new sixth graders only boosted hopes. The turnout was very high in the beginning, sometimes reaching almost 30 people at meetings. Thanks to a more efficient process for choosing team members and preparing for events and a greater sense of commitment instilled by their coach, chances for placing well looked brighter than ever. However, as the regional competition neared, hopes started to dim a little as some events were not as strong as they would have preferred them to be.

At the regional competition, the team got 1st out of 21 teams and medaled in 15 out of the 22 events held. This feat can be seen as slightly more impressive when the fact that only three medals for each event were given out, as opposed to the original four. Had they distributed four medals as in previous years, the team would have received 18 out of 22 medals. This finish slightly boosted their confidence in the coming states. At the state finals, the team placed 5th, which was in the top 5 for the first time in school history. They were only 3 points behind the 4th place team and region rival Greater Nanticoke. Users on these teams were 49ers, karatekid44, yoyosciencekid23, tvmoggie33 and NEO Awesomeness. Hemi382 participated in 2009. EASTstroudsburg13 also acted as a student coach.

<spoiler text="2010 Event Results">

2010 Event Places

Event	Regionals	States
Anatomy	5th	30th
Battery Buggy	3rd	20th
Bio-Process Lab	8th	18th
Can't Judge A Powder	2nd	23rd
Compute This	9th	2nd
Disease Detectives	4th	5th
Dynamic Planet	2nd	28th
Ecology	4th	26th
Elevated Bridge	1st	2nd
Experimental Design	3rd	12th
Fossils	3rd	8th
Junkyard Challenge	4th	18th
Meteorology	3rd	1st
Ornithology	2nd	14th
Pentathlon	*	2nd
Physical Science Lab	3rd	9th
Road Scholar	1st	6th
Science Crime Busters	1st	21st
Shock Value	2nd	10th
Solar System	1st	12th
Trajectory	8th	11th
Wright Stuff	3rd	27th
Write It Do It	3rd	15th
Total	75	320

-*event was not held </spoiler>

2011-2013

2011 marked a changing of the guard for the J.T. Lambert team. The eighth graders that had led the team had now moved on to the high school and the remaining middle schoolers had to rebuild to create another hard-working group. In the first invitational ever for J.T. Lambert, they placed 8th overall and 6th of all schools (some schools brought multiple teams). These results are commendable considering the rebuilding effort. Their next competition was the Comet Invitational, where the team placed 2nd out of four teams, only losing out to Wyoming Area Middle School by two points. From there the team had to build on their experience in order to extend the streak of state appearances.

At regionals, the team overcame any doubts of experience by placing first for the second year in a row. This finish was fueled by the knowledge of experienced eighth graders combined with the efforts of new, hard-working sixth graders. This sixth-grade core bodes well for J.T. Lambert teams in the future. From there, the team worked hard to try to compete with the traditional heavyweights of states. They placed a respectable 10th, marking the 4th straight year J.T. Lambert has made the top 10 teams at states. karatekid44 and tvmoggie33 both participated on this team.

<spoiler text="2011 Event Results">

2011 Event Places

Event	Rustin	Comet	Regionals	States
Anatomy	16th	3rd	7th	18th
Awesome Aquifers	13th	2nd	2nd	16th
Battery Buggy	6th	1st	1st	3rd
Bottle Rocket	10th	*	2nd	4th
Can't Judge A Powder	8th	2nd	1st	2nd
Compute This	8th	*	6th	23rd
Crime Busters	5th	1st	3rd	8th
Disease Detectives	7th	2nd	1st	6th
Dynamic Planet	13th	2nd	5th	27th
Ecology	8th	2nd	3rd	20th
Experimental Design	7th	1st	8th	32nd
Fossils	6th	2nd	5th	6th
Junkyard Challenge	6th	1st	2nd	36th
Meteorology	10th	3rd	5th	12th
Microbe Mission	7th	2nd	7th	23rd
Optics	5th	2nd	2nd	24th
Ornithology	18th	2nd	7th	9th
Road Scholar	1st	1st	3rd	2nd
Shock Value	11th	2nd	*	22nd
Solar System	13th	4th	9th	12th
Storm The Castle	8th	2nd	2nd	6th
Towers	5th	2nd	2nd	10th
Write It Do It	10th	4th	12th	23rd
Total	201	43	95	344

-*event was not run </spoiler>

In 2012, the team hoped that experience gained last year paid off and could overcome any losses to the high school team. However, a lack of eighth graders prove to be a challenge, as the majority of the team was new and was not aware of the work required to do well. After the Rustin Invitational was cancelled due to inclement weather, the team competed at Comet and was given a wake-up call caused by their less-then-stellar performance. From there, it was not a matter of defending their title, but simply managing to qualify for states. Especially with the influx of Park Forest Middle School and Mount Nittany Middle School into the region, a sixth consecutive state berth seemed on the bubble. Even during regionals, there were few events that seemed to have really excelled, and anxieties were there. In the end, though, their effort was enough to get fourth in the region.

Following a tough regional competition, the team knew it would be difficult to excel in states as it had in previous years. Through hard work in the days leading up to the competition, the team was able to balance out most of its events and place 13th overall, which was quite good considering the adversity it had to endure. There were also two medal winners at states, one in Rocks and Minerals and one in Storm the Castle. Rissapf13 and Nerdgirl314 were members of this team.

<spoiler text="2012 Event Results">

2012 Event Places

Event	Comet	Regionals	States
Anatomy		12th	24th
Awesome Aquifers		8th	14th
Bottle Rocket		3rd	6th
Compute This		4th	14th
Crime Busters		7th	24th
Disease Detectives		9th	13th
Dynamic Planet		8th	36th
Experimental Design		3rd	16th
Food Science		9th	17th
Forestry		9th	16th
Keep the Heat		11th	35th
Meteorology		4th	15th
Microbe Mission		10th	14th
Mission Possible		9th	28th
Mousetrap Vehicle		1st	25th
Optics		8th	6th
Reach for the Stars		7th	13th
Road Scholar		7th	25th
Rocks and Minerals		20th	5th
Storm the Castle		1st	3rd
Towers		3rd	8th
Water Quality		1st	14th
Write It Do It		16th	21st
Total		170	392

</spoiler>

2013 started off as a possibly resurgent year for J.T. Lambert. Most of the team was returning, and had the experience of two years of regionals and states. With hard work, they could return to contending in the top 10 of the state. As they competed at the Rustin and Comet Invitationals, this prospect became more and more realistic as they put up strong showings. With continued work until regionals, another strong place seems possible.

2013 Event Places

Event	Rustin	Comet	Regionals	States
Anatomy		12th
Boomilever		1st
Crime Busters		12th
Disease Detectives		6th
Dynamic Planet		8th
Experimental Design		8th
Food Science		7th
Forestry		7th
Helicopters		7th
Heredity		11th
Keep the Heat		3rd
Meteorology		10th
Metric Mastery		10th
Mission Possible		8th
Mousetrap Vehicle		1st
Reach for the Stars		9th
Road Scholar		4th
Rocks and Minerals		3rd
Rotor Egg Drop		10th
Shock Value		5th
Sounds of Music		2nd
Water Quality		6th
Write It Do It		6th
Total		156

Other Competitions

Before 2011, the only competition this team participates in is their regional, and states if they get there. They had never competed in any invitationals. In 2011, however, they attended the inaugural Rustin Invitational and the Comet Invitational. They attended Comet again in 2012, but could not attend Rustin due to inclement weather.

Fun Facts

• In general, J.T. Lambert has an intense rivalry with Stroudsburg Junior High School, and this carries over to Science Olympiad somewhat. The rivalry in sports is even more intense in the high school.
  • Also, the second period of JTL's success coincided with Stroudsburg's fall from being perennial national qualifier. Since JTL started their streak of six straight state appearances, Stroudsburg has not qualified for nationals.
  • Ironically, the co-captain of the team in 2008 (not EASTstroudsburg13) moved into Stroudsburg's school boundaries in high school, and then participated on their team.
• At regionals, the 2008 and 2009 teams got the exact same place and score. However, the 2008 team had to compete in more events than the 2009 team. (23-22)
• The team holds "runoffs" for each event to determine who makes the team. Once the results are found, the people who do well in multiple events are chosen for the team first and the rest of the spots are filled in.
• At meetings, Science Olympiad is usually referred to as "Science O".
• On the way back from the 2008 state competition, the team's bus broke down, and they had to wait about two hours for another bus to arrive. They got back to the school at around 2 AM. EASTstroudsburg13 now thinks this entire situation was rather amusing, contrary to the opinions of some other members (49ers).
• At 2009 states, a box containing the team's plane was inadvertently tripped over and was damaged badly. However, the event participants (hemi382 and yoyosciencekid23), along with another team member, were able to fix the plane and recover for a ninth place finish.
• The 2009 team shirt featured a drawing on the front based on this xkcd comic.

Users

The following scioly.org users participate or have participated in this school's team:

EASTstroudsburg13

Hawke245

airplanesrule

starsky133

hemi382

49ers

yoyosciencekid23

NEO Awesomeness

karatekid44

tvmoggie33

Rissapf

Nerdgirl314

Rissapf13

Users can put this userbox on their wikis by copying and pasting the text:

JTLUser attends J.T. Lambert Intermediate School.

{{Template:Userbox/School|logo-background=#4A0183|logo-color=#FFF|sshort=JTL|school=[[J.T. Lambert Intermediate School]]|name=User|border-color=#000}}

Useful Sites

School Site

District Site

Northeastern Region site

Pennsylvania SO Site