Five students at Logos Public Charter School in Medford broke a curse Friday.

Under the name Rogue Pack Alpha, the team won first place at Oregon Envirothon, a statewide environmental science competition held in Silverton.

Based on historical precedent, the students were due to win anything but first; Logos won last year, and the school has never taken top honors two years in a row.

“To be honest, I personally was pretty worried because it’s never been done before,” said Adam Hill, who was on the 2022 team.

It was the charter school’s fifth first-place win.

Second place went to … Logos, with team Rogue Pack Beta. It marked the first time the school sent two teams to the state competition.

In July, Hill and his Alpha teammates will compete at a weeklong international Envirothon in New Brunswick, Canada.

“We’re really excited that we have the opportunity to represent our school,” said Naomi Nelson, another senior with Rogue Pack Alpha.

Christopher Van Ness — the charter school’s director of the Department of Science and Inquiry — and his students always start the school year in September with the idea that they’re headed for the international event, he said. This means they have to learn ecological issues and concepts for that region, just as they do for Oregon competitions.

When they get to Canada — where the students will face off against U.S., Canadian and Chinese teams — they will meet with environmental experts across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to help them understand the natural resource issues they face in that part of the world.

“We will travel around and be able to gain a perspective that’s more local,” Van Ness said.

As they did at state, the students will show their grasp of topics ranging from aquatic, forest and wildlife ecology to soil and land use, Van Ness said. They must also master a “current issue” topic — this year, adaptation to climate change — and deliver an oral presentation on it.

In Silverton, the speech was required to be 10 minutes. In New Brunswick, it must be 20.

The school needs to raise at least $7,500 to cover the cost of the trip and is planning various fundraisers, Van Ness said. Their progress will be posted on Instagram — @theroguepack22 and @logospubliccharter — Nelson said.

Last month, Alpha claimed first place and Beta second place at the Southern Oregon Regional Envirothon — Oregon’s only regional Envirothon — held at Crater Renaissance Academy’s Crater Land Lab in Central Point. While not a step to the state competition, the event often serves as a rehearsal for students bound for the bigger events.

Asked why Rogue Pack teams have been so successful, Van Ness said: “I appreciate the development of rigor and challenging students to rise beyond what they think they might be capable of, and I think that understanding how we can find our own passions, and impassion others through that — I think those are a big piece.”

Logos allows students to focus on what interests them, said Sheryl Zimmerer, the school’s executive director.

Van Ness said, “We have kids who spend time. And they want to know. And we don’t force people into this program. This is for students who are interested and want to participate.”

Also on Friday, Logos students won the regional ExMass (Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students), a NASA-funded competition, Zimmerer announced in a release.

They worked on a project “designed to encourage students to think critically about space exploration and to develop their scientific and technical skills,” the release said. In July, the students will present their work at the NASA Exploration Science Forum, a conference held in Maryland.

In addition, the school on Thursday won a $10,000 award from Building Hope — a national, charter school-focused nonprofit — for innovation in education.

Bio Box

Rogue Pack Alpha: Adam Hill, 12th grade; Aliro Love, 10th grade; Naomi Nelson, 12th grade; Adele Severson, 11th grade; Andria Slaughter, 12th grade.

Rogue Pack Beta: Malachi Beal, 12th grade; Avram Chan, ninth grade; Malachi Cordero, ninth grade; Charlotte Heintz, 11th grade; Otto Loogman, 11th grade.

ExMass team: Kyle Clarstrom, 10th grade; Summer Johnson, eighth grade; Asher Molzer, 11th grade; Asa Nelson, seventh grade. Teacher: Holly Bensel.