Science Fair newsletter

Hello parents, and thank you for encouraging your student to participate in this year's science fair! We are very excited to be hosting this event again, as part of PTSA and Newcomb Foundation's Science Fair & Art Share event on March 14.

We are tremendously proud of the 90+ students who want to explore science through a project. Curiosity, thoughtfulness, perseverance, and reflection are integral to the scientific and engineering processes, and we want to cultivate and celebrate those skills in our students the same way athleticism, artistry, and charisma are rightfully recognized.

Parent's role 

We know this event requires a time investment from you, so we thank you in advance for the guidance you will provide your student in this process. To make sure we are encouraging and recognizing our students specifically, we ask that you once again review the Parent Code of Conduct agreement and Presentation & Judging agreement so you are clear on your role as parent facilitator. If you forgot to sign or submit these forms, please do so now. 

Due dates (important!)

To accommodate the increase in student participation, and make sure that every student gets time to present, we are extending our "judging" period to give more time for presentations. 

SOME PROJECTS will be due on Wednesday, March 4, and will present on March 4/5/6 (to be scheduled):

Collections

Observations

Demonstrations

THE REMAINING PROJECTS will be due on Monday, March 9, and will present on March 9-13:

Experiments

Discovery

Engineering Design

On their due date, students will bring the project board, report (if expected), and other materials to school, and PTSA will store them on campus. We will send a sign-up form in a few weeks to choose a presentation time, during which your student will present their work to a team of PTSA parent judges. The judges will celebrate their accomplishments and complete a thoughtful feedback rubric that will be returned at the science fair event.

That gives students 30-35 days to complete their projects, which is both a lot of time and not much time at all! Most projects should start with the research step, where you help the student learn a little of the background that will help them predict the outcomes of the project. For example, my daughter's Experiment is about sugar and sugar substitutes, so we have been reading aspartame and taste buds. Then she'll form a hypothesis and design an experimental test. I might already know the answer to her question, but I'm going to let her think up a way to test it out, then guide her as she implements the experiment and records the results. The process will be similar for Demonstrations (skipping the hypothesis), Observations (the hypothesis is more "where can I go / what can I see to answer my question?"), and Engineering Design.  

For more thoughts on the order to complete a project, please see the individual project guidelines documents:

Collections: TK-1

Observations: TK-1; 2-3

Demonstrations: TK-1; 2-3

Discovery: 2-3; 4-5; 6-8

Experiments: K-1; 2-3; 4-5; 6-8

Engineering Design: 4-5; 6-8

Changing projects

Your student may realize early on that their Experiment is more of a Demonstration, or might decide their Observation would be more interesting as an Experiment. This is perfectly fine! They are welcome to change project categories or ideas with your guidance. Just please email us so we can keep track! 

After-school project help

We are hosting more after-school help next week, Wednesday 2/11 and Friday 2/13 from 2:15-3:00 in the library. PTSA volunteers will be there to help with project planning. We can walk your students through refining their question, doing some initial discovery/research, identifying materials needed, and planning their experiment, demonstration, etc. We hope your student will take advantage! 

Email support

This email address is monitored, and we invite you to submit questions and concerns to us. We can provide the same services over email as we do at the after-school help hours.

New this year: raffle!

Every student who presents their project will receive a raffle ticket to a STEM-themed raffle! We have several experiment kits, STEM activities, and toys donated by PTSA and Newcomb Academy Foundation, including a 879-piece "The Evolution of STEM" LEGO set! 

A second raffle ticket can be earned by attending any of our after-school project help hours. (See the schedule above!)

Volunteer judges needed! 

Lastly, we have a HUGE NEED for parent volunteers to help with judging projects from March 4-13. If you have VIPS clearance (required) and can spare a few hours during the school week, please fill out this Parent Volunteer Interest Form to let us know your availability. You do not need a science background to help; merely an enthusiasm for celebrating students' efforts and promoting science literacy. 

Yours in science,

Neal Terrell (computer science), Amber DeVeny (forensic science), and Andrew Manson (social science)

sciencefair@newcombacademy.org

Hello Newcomb families! Please find the brief updates below about the Newcomb Academy science fair .

After-school project help this week!

Our next after-school project help sessions are this week, Wednesday 2/11 and Friday 2/13 from 2:15-3:00 in the library. PTSA volunteers will be present to help participants with ANYTHING they need -- refining an idea, answering preliminary questions, planning an experiment, anything at all!

As a reminder, a student can earn a second entry to the Science Fair Raffle by attending any of our help sessions! 

Physical space at the science fair

For the family science fair event, each student will set up their project board or poster on tables/walls of the cafeteria. They can expect a space approximately 4 feet by 2 feet to set up the display, which is enough to fit a large tri-fold project board and a small model, prototype, diorama, or key component of the project. Please let us know if your student will like more space for their display. We can accommodate a limited number of requests for extra space. 

Volunteer judges needed! 

We still have a HUGE NEED for parent volunteers to help with judging projects from March 10-13. If you have VIPS clearance (required) and can spare a few hours during the school week, please fill out this Parent Volunteer Interest Form to let us know your availability. You do not need a science background to help; merely an enthusiasm for celebrating students' efforts and promoting science literacy. 

If you registered after last Tuesday

I am archiving my weekly emails on the Newcomb Academy PTSA website. Please check out this link if you did not receive last week's email, which has details on project due dates, rubrics, and the raffle.

That's all for this week!

Yours in science,

Neal Terrell (computer science), Amber DeVeny (forensic science), and Andrew Manson (social science)

sciencefair@newcombacademy.org

Hello Newcomb families!

Here is our list of Science Fair updates for this final week and a half before projects start getting turned in and presented.

When are projects due?

It depends on the project type:

• Collection, Observation, and Demonstration projects are due Wednesday, March 4, and will present March 4-6.

• Experiment, Discovery, and Engineering projects are due Monday, March 9, and will present March 9-13.

On your child's due date, please help them bring their project board + any other materials to the front of the school before 8:00am. PTSA will direct them on where to take their materials, and will store the project until the Science Fair & Art Share event.

Presentations

Please use THIS LINK to sign up for an after-school presentation time slot. 

Collection, Observation, and Demonstration projects should present March 4-6. Experiment, Discovery, and Engineering projects present March 9-14. 

This is a time for your student to show their board and discuss their project with the judges. They should prepare a 3-10 minute chat (grade level dependent) about their project, talking about roughly the same information that is on the project board. Things to highlight include:

• Experiments: what was the hypothesis? how did you test the hypothesis, and what was the conclusion?

• Discovery: why did you want to research this topic? what were the most surprising things you learned?

• Collections: how did you identify the objects? how did you organize them? which object or group is your favorite?

• Observations: how did you make and record the observations? what information did you collect? were the results surprising, or what you expected?

• Demonstrations: what process did you follow? in your own words, can you explain what happened, and why?

• Engineering Design: what object or process did you design to solve your problem? how did you test and evaluate your solution?

The project guidelines and rubrics have more information on what makes a "great" project. A great presentation should cover the same information, in a grade-appropriate way.

Project boards

The traditional display for a science project is a tri-fold project board; ScienceBuddies.org has a nice overview here. Your student will give their final project presentation in front of their board and will be able to refer to it, but the board should also "stand on its own", and give a clear overview of the project that doesn't require further explanation. 

The classic size is 36 inches tall by 48 inches wide (unfolded). These should cost between 4 and 7 dollars; here are some stores you can check:

Michaels

Amazon (be very careful about what size you are buying)

March 14 Science Fair & Art Share event

PTSA and NAF's spring STEAM event is on Saturday, March 14 from 3 to 6pm. Science projects will be set up in the gym, with the Art Share gallery in the middle school hallway. 

We will take care of setting up project boards and display materials. If your student's project has unusual display needs, please get in touch so we can work out the details, which can include you coming early to set up yourself.

We strongly hope that your family can attend the event, so your child can talk about their work with the school community!

Volunteer judges needed! 

We are still looking for parent volunteers to help with judging projects from March 4-13. If you have VIPS clearance (required) and can spare a few hours during the school week, please fill out this Parent Volunteer Interest Form to let us know your availability. You do not need a science background to help; merely an enthusiasm for celebrating students' efforts and promoting science literacy. 

Yours in science,

Neal Terrell (computer science), Amber DeVeny (forensic science), and Andrew Manson (social science)

Hello Newcomb families!

Here is our list of Science Fair updates for March 2. 

PLEASE REGISTER FOR A PRESENTATION TIME!

Only 50% of students have registered for a presentation time. Please sign up ASAP with THIS LINK so we can coordinate parent volunteers for this heavy effort.

Some projects DUE TOMORROW!

If your child completed a Collection, Observation, or Demonstration project, please help them turn in their poster board and other materials tomorrow March 4 before school. We will have a volunteer in front of school directing them where to go. 

For Experiment, Discovery, and Engineering projects, they will turn in before school on Monday, March 9.

What to expect when presenting?

Your child will report to the library for their presentation, where a PTSA volunteer will help set up their presentation materials. Two invested, caring parent volunteers will listen as the student explains their project, helping them to feel pride in their work. The judges will return a feedback form to the student to keep, and will also fill out a rubric that we will keep for determining prizes. You should help your student practice a 3-8 minute talk about what they did, perhaps emphasizing:

• A collection project's question, where the objects were found, and any interesting ways of grouping or describing them.

• An observation project's question, how they performed the observation, and anything interesting learned.

• A demonstration project's question, how the science works, and any interesting results. The demonstration can be performed if it's safe and doesn't cause a mess.

• A discovery project's question, motivation, research sources, and key findings. 

• An experiment's question, hypothesis, procedure, results, and conclusion.

• An engineering project's problem,design, and solution. 

Can I watch my child's presentation?

A science fair presentation is a way for your child to get practice with public speaking in a low-stakes environment, and to take pride and ownership of the work they did. You are welcome to come watch their presentation as long as we don't interfere with those goals. We ask that you stand off to the side so the student's attention is on the judges, and that you let them do the whole presentation without your input or influence. 

Please check in with the office before heading to the library if you do attend.

STEAM Event, March 14

We hope you will join us on Saturday, March 14, from 3-6pm, for our second annual SCIENCE FAIR & ART SHARE event in the Newcomb gymnasium. All our science fair projects will be on display, plus an adjoining art gallery for Art Share participants. There will be snacks for sale to benefit the 8th Grade Leadership group, a STEM-themed pop-up book fair hosted by Mr. Ruggeroni, and robotics club demos in the middle school second-floor hallway (Ms. Wu's room). We will announce our award winners at the event, and also hold the raffle drawing (you do not need to be present to win). 

Yours in science,

Neal Terrell (computer science), Amber DeVeny (forensic science), and Andrew Manson (social science)