Regional science fair winners include state qualifier

Posted on March 11, 2014 By Editor Junior Residents

Nine students represented St. Paul’s Catholic School at the Northeast Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair on Feb. 10 at the Morocco Shrine Auditorium with five students returning home with ribbons.
The winners included Jayme Marquez, with a 4th place in Engineering, Nathan Lesser who took 3rd place also in Engineering, Henry Guild with another 4th place Engineering and a Special Interest award from the Navy. Ana Hale was a 3rd place winner in Engineering, while Patrick Monteith placed 4th in Environmental Science. Other participating students included Tommy Guild, Myles Sreenan, Chole Iuliano and Joseph Hale.
Over 400 students from 30 different schools (both public and private) participated in this fair, according to Jamie Terry, 7th and 8th grade science teacher at St. Paul’s. “That’s pretty good to have that many winners out of 400 participants and 30 schools,” said Terry.
Students’ projects were judged in categories such as Behavioral and Social Sciences, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Science, Engineering, and Environmental Science as well as several others. Many special awards were given by organizations like the American Meteorological Society and the American Society of Civil Engineers as well as 43 more local organizations.
Of the 14 students selected for the State Team, seven students were from diocesan schools. One of those selected to represent the region at the state science fair level was Nathan Lesser, an 8th grader at St. Paul’s.
“Students must use the scientific method to solve a problem or answer a question. Most schools begin work on these projects as soon as school begins in August,” said Terry.