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