Canterbury Sweeps Regional Science Fair
Canterbury School students took home top honors at the 50th Annual Thomas Alva Edison Regional Science Fair, held in late January. Students in both the Middle and Upper Schools were honored with special awards, category awards and even Grand Awards.
In an unprecedented showing, four Canterbury Upper School students snatched all available spots to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair this May in Albuquerque. Sophomore Sabrina Prabakaran scored Best of Fair honors at the Regional Science Fair, her second consecutive Best of Fair win. Canterbury sophomore David Shepherd and seniors Raheen Bush and Zachary Rubin also won the all-expense paid trip to Albuquerque. With the award, each also received a four-year, $11,000 scholarship to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Over 1,500 student scientists will attend the International Science Fair, which combines a diverse mix of students representing 47 foreign countries.
Several students also received invitations to the State Science Fair, this year held in Fort Myers in April. Middle School student Sameer Islam and Upper School students Brian Covello, Erik Downes, Roland Gonzalez-Sanz, Matthew Holt, Andrew Mehlman and Caroline Zapiec not only received State Science Fair invitations, but also first-place awards in their respective categories and a four-year scholarship to FGCU.
Middle School students Joshua Liebowitz, Melissa Miller, Amanda Tolep and Upper School senior Ross Dworet received two-year scholarships to Edison College.
Mercedes Espina, Lane Finstrom, Amanda Tolep, Mary Margaret Brinkopf, Erik Downes, Roland Gonzalez-Sanz, Andrew Mehlman, David Shepard and Caroline Zapiec also received special awards, awards by companies or individuals for outstanding work in a particular field.
Middle School Science Fair participants worked under the direction of Middle School science teacher Ms. Diane Amundson. Canterbury Upper School students participating in the science fair take the Independent Research course, a self-study class directed by Dr. Betsy Glass, a veteran of Canterbury School and the founder of the Independent Research Program. To date, Canterbury School students have won five Grand Awards at the International Science Fair, a number unrivaled by any other school in the world.
Dr. Glass was pleased by the results and believes all competing students deserve praise. “I think that Canterbury had super students with super projects, and though we had many winners, all Canterbury students competing at Regionals should be commended for completing exemplary work. These students dedicated much time to learning, and will always have the rewards of knowledge in their minds. It’s the overall learning that really counts.”
The Regional Science Fair is hosted by Lee County and the Fort Myers Kiwanis Club. The Regional Fair includes students from Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and DeSoto Counties. About seven hundred students participated in the Fair.
For additional information regarding all of Canterbury’s successful student scientists, visit The Cougar Paw’s website,
http://my.highschooljournalism.org/fl/fortmyers/canterbury/The Cougar Paw will update the progress of these young scientists in future editions.
Singapore Integrative Science Challenge(SISC 2007)
The Canterbury Team of Science Competitors traveled directly to Singapore following the International Competition in New Mexico. Although other US schools were invited to compete, Canterbury's team was the only US Science Team at the Singapore Competition. The team was comprised of three teams of three students each: Raheen Bush, Erik Downes,David Shepard; Bahar Shah, Gena Eddy, Caroline ZaPiec; Zak Rubin, Sabrina Prabakaran, Matthew Holt. Surprising to our students, their research projects were weighted just 30%, while their answers to Integrative Science Questions counted as 70% of their final score. Of the 100+ competitors, Matthew Holt earned a 3rd Place for his research project and Erik Downes was voted by his competitors and visitors to have the best poster board in the competition. After learning how the Singapore schools integrate all sciences in their education, Canterbury will have a "trial course" the next two years, made up of volunteer students who will attend a class meeting one day each week and in-between work in teams on integrated questions. The answers will then be presented and discussed, during a weekly class time and a new set of questions will be given. It will be from this class of students that the 2009 SISC competitors will be selected, based upon their class and team performances.
Labels: SISC 2007 Competition
