An Inside Look at the Grade 9 Science Fair

On February 5, the Gudewill Learning Commons and the Thorau Gym were filled with Grade 9 students who worked very hard on their Science Fair projects since September. This Wednesday the students had an opportunity to present the many unique and exciting projects that they had prepared. Some students chose to be judged in order for a chance to attend the Regional Science Fair Exhibition. 

This year, instead of using physical poster boards or Google Slide presentations, the teachers decided to try something new. We created digital poster boards on a website, and so all of the students’ projects can be displayed and accessed online. Click here to access the Grade 9 Science Fair projects.

As with every year, a guest speaker, Dr. Geoff Steeves, was invited to speak at our assembly. Dr. Steeves is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UVic and a Global Faculty Member of the International Space University.

Dr. Steeves briefly described how he became interested in physics and astronomy and of his experience in applying to become an astronaut. He even mentioned how there will be an astronomical event on February 28. On this day, all the planets will align and you will be able to see them without the aid of a telescope!

After the assembly, the Grade 9 students had some time to gather their supplies and prepare for their presentation. There were many delicious snacks provided by the teachers for the students that disappeared very quickly. While waiting for the exhibition to begin, students mentioned how nervous they were. Nikolas Tolias ’28 described how he had felt very nervous about presenting and found the idea of science fair daunting compared to other experiences. Clara Rowand ’28 also agreed that this event was very stressful and was worried about how the presentations would go.

However, after the presentation, the students reflected that it wasn’t so bad after all. “Before I felt scared and nervous for the presentations, but afterwards I felt very relaxed and happy to have finished,” stated Clarita Pelligra ’28. Furthermore, students found that it was much less stressful and nerve-wracking because it was less like a presentation and more like a casual conversation. 

Tristan Staniforth ’28 mentioned how “It wasn’t that bad because I could just talk to them.” 

Although it was a very stressful and nerve wracking event, many students enjoyed this experience and some would even consider doing this again. Anna Iqbal ’28 replied that, “I would definitely do this again because it was a really fun and interesting experience and I learned quite a lot throughout this project.” Nathan Brooke ’28 also mentioned how he would consider doing a project again and would enjoy the process more if he did it in more of a relaxed setting where the research, experiment and results weren’t graded.

Some of the Grade 9 students felt proud of the amount of work and effort that they put into their projects. They felt as though they understood their projects very well and were able to communicate their ideas clearly.

Special thanks to Ms. Simard and Ms. Popescu for preparing and organizing this amazing experience for us to enjoy, and to the teachers and students from the higher grades who volunteered to be judges! 
Next week, the Grade 9s will be participating in Shakespeare Day! The Grade 9s have been practicing and memorizing their lines to perform a fun take on Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Come and see this fantastic performance live next Wednesday at 1:00!