“We certainly have some budding young scientists here,” Zachary Farrell, principal at Johnston High School, said with a wide smile on his face as he walked around the school cafeteria last Thursday afternoon. “This is a great sampling from the different braches of science taught here, including biology, chemistry, and physics.”
Farrell was speaking of the annual Science Fair, an event coordinated by teachers that featured dozens of impressive projects requiring three months of work.
“All of the students that participated and their science teachers did a wonderful job of putting this together,” Farrell said. “This gives our students the ability to innovate, show off their scientific talent and ingenuity and apply them to real-world learning experiences.”
Dr. Bernard DiLullo and Dr. Arthur-Paul Petrosinelli, the superintendent and assistant superintendent of Johnston schools, respectively, concurred with Farrell while helping to judge what they both called a “very, very impressive collection that showcases the many talents and hard work of all the participating students.”
Once each and every project was judged, there were four overall winners and four other awards presented for the “best” in as many categories.
First place went to Ryan Decesare, whose project was entitled, “Testing the Natural Antimicrobial Effects of Spices on Raw Chicken and the Implications on Food Safety.”
Edward Gallucci, a basketball standout at Johnston High, was the runner-up for his project, “The Dangers of Lead,” which included testing the concentration of lead in both water and vinegar.
“All the students dedicated considerable time to reach this goal,” Terry Florio, a Johnston High science teacher, explained. “Our science students began their preparation for today’s event three months ago, and they were required to independently research, plan, and perform an experiment on a topic of their interest.”
Florio – like DiLullo, Petrosonelli, Farrell, and Assistant Principal Robert DiMuccio, as well as a number of other judges – was impressed by the wide variety of projects and subject matter students in grades nine to 12 displayed during the Science Fair.
The students also prepared their respective projects with the teacher’s guidance and direction and were, as Florio further explained, “required to complete a written laboratory report and a backboard display. The students were also required to present their findings to their classmates prior to today’s Science Fair.”
Florio was also a judge, and added: “I am very impressed with the projects presented in this Science Fair, and this shows that each and every student dedicated considerable time to reach this goal, and we hope this experience sparks further interest in scientific exploration.”
Lauren Civetti took home third place overall for her project, “Electrolyte Challenge,” while Laura Wilson – one of the state’s top art students, who recently won both a Gold and Silver Key award in the RI Art Education Association’s annual competition – finished in fourth place with a project entitled, “The Perpetual Puzzle.”
Jenny Jobe’s “Baby Food Feud” was judged the Best Visual project, and the Best Backboard project award went to Thomas Autiello for his “CPU Cooler.”
The Science Fair’s Most Creative Topic honor went to “Liver Lecture,” while Joely Centracchio landed honors for the Best Data Collection with her project, “Putting Water to Work.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here