Rehoboth Elementary fifth grade holds science fair
Over the last few weeks, Rehoboth Elementary School fifth-graders spent time researching, experimenting and presenting various topics for their annual science fair projects.
Students chose topics that were of interest to them within the categories of life science, physical science or consumer product science.
Once a topic was selected, each student presented a problem, developed a hypothesis, then conducted trials and tests to collect data. Finally, they had to present a conclusion based on their research.
“Just as we have in past years, students were interviewed by a few volunteer judges in each category and had a variety of criteria that needed to be met,” said Jacquie Kisiel, fifth-grade teacher. “The judges looked at things like originality and research methods, and also asked the students specific questions about their project.”
Specific judging criteria included the students’ procedures, testing organization, variables, data and analysis, and evaluation and conclusion.
“This year we had 66 students, both in person and remote, participate in interviews with judges, which were all conducted over Zoom,” said Kisiel. “I was so excited to see how much both our in-person learners and our remote learners embraced their projects and their presentations. Everyone did a great job, and I’m very proud of them!”
Once the interviews were all conducted, first-, second- and third-place honors were awarded to students in each category, along with honorable mentions. Remote students attended via a live Zoom April 1 for the awards presentation.
Keiry Oliva DeLeon was the first-place winner for life science, with a focus on the plants category.
Sloan Pierce, Skyler Anderson and Holden Moore took first, second and third respectively in physical science with a focus on chemistry; while Nick DeEmedio, Carlie Smith, and Kailey McMahon were the first-, second- and third-place winners in physical science with a focus on physics.
Hobby Ryan, Courtney Davis and Phalin Flynn won first, second and third place in life science, humans and other animals category. Nadia Ahmed, Nicholas Petito and Beau Krick finished first, second and third in consumer product science with a focus on brand comparison.
“Thank you so much to our volunteer judges who included retired Delaware teachers, university professors, principals, aerospace engineers and civil engineers,” said Kisiel. “And an extra-special thank you to the Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation, which sponsored our finalist and participant awards. We wouldn’t be able to host a successful science fair without these special partnerships.”
Congratulations also go out to all the students who earned honorable mentions for their hard work. They are: Isabella Nguyen and Autumn Moore, life science - chemistry; Conner Gruno and Izzy Fitzgerald, physical science - physics; Caleb Harris and Jacob Rodebush, life science - humans and other animals; and Alexis Zolper, McKinley Messick, Nina Schrader, and Brooklyn Montgomery, consumer product science - brand comparison.
