The Biology club, unlike most CHS clubs, prepares for a specific competition every year.

“The main competition is a national qualifying test, [the] Biology Olympiad,” president Crystal Chiang said. “It takes place every February as a 45-minute multiple choice exam.”

In 2008, two MCPS students, Jonathan Gootenberg from Blair HS and Jonathan Liang from Wootton HS, were accepted to the national team.

“The team was started to offer CHS students a chance to participate in this national examination and qualify for an amazing honor,” Chiang said. “Qualifiers from this exam earn prestigious recognition and move on to Semifinals, USABO National Finals and finally the USA Biology Olympiad Team.”

In order to help prepare them for the exam, members divide into groups to make PowerPoint presentations and a question sheet. As the test date comes nearer, they will review the questions and answers.

“Facts presented in the PowerPoint presentation must be related to the topic that the group has signed up for,” Chiang said. “There must be specific multiple-choice questions to mock the actual Biology Olympiad, but for the purpose of understanding the material, the questions may also include matching terms and/or simple, general questions.”

The Biology club meets every other Thursday at lunch, in room 147.