St. Gabriel School Holds Annual Science Fair

St. Gabriel School held their annual Science Fair awards ceremony on January 30^th.  This year 121 students participated, creating 88 projects.  While Middle School students are required to complete a project, participation for the elementary level is optional.  Despite having the choice to not participate, 71 students from grades 1-5, representing over 53% of that student population, submitted 46 projects.  Kindergarten students work on one project as a class.

There was a great variety of topics this year; from classics such as rainbows, batteries, floating eggs, the solar system, and volcanoes, to a new look at solar energy and various fruit ripening & rotting experiments.  Science teacher, Meg Rosa, always encourages students to find new ideas and try something not done before.  As usual, she was not disappointed this year.  Students took basic ideas and explored them in new ways.  They expanded their experiments to find something different to show. 

Judges come from various places throughout the area including education or science related fields.  Although snow caused an early dismissal, this year’s judges were able to get to St. Gabriel School in time to view projects and choose winners.  Awards were given by grade for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place, as well as honorable mention for most grades.  Family and friends gathered at the school on Wednesday, January 30^th, to view all projects and share in the presentation of awards. 

First and second place winners from grades 7 & 8 have the opportunity to participate in the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair held at Quinnipiac College March 12^th -16^th.  Students compete against other students in their grade level and the topic area of their projects.  St. Gabriel students eligible to participate are Rachel Conover (Gr. 8; 1^st Place – “Caffeine – Not Just for People”), Lauren Burns (Gr. 8; 2^nd place – “Cool Shades”), Justin Lam (Gr. 7; 1^st place – “Gauss Rifle – A Magnetic Linear Accelerator”) and Max Mossberg (Gr. 7; 2^nd place – “Free Electricity from Your Car”).

Congratulations to all who participated and good luck to those who will continue on in March!