Middle Schoolers Receive Top STEM Awards

Four students in the Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS) Middle School Science Fair Club received STEM awards this month at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) STEM Fair. Seven total participants from SHS—all seventh graders—entered the competition; each worked on their science experiments for six months leading up to the March 5th virtual fair. 

 

Students Ela V. (SHP ’27) and Angela H. (SHP ’27) both placed first for their experiments and will move up to participate in the CA State Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF) on April 12th; they also received recognition from Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars). 

SHS Middle School science teacher Jiwon Kim said she was proud of all participants and impressed by their dedication to the project. “The whole process was a lot of learning, and very challenging,” said Kim. “All seven students made a lot of effort to show up in [twice-weekly] meetings—they worked very hard to [produce] good-quality work.”

When club participants began meeting in early October, they were asked to brainstorm interesting scientific questions and research topics they were most passionate about, said Kim. “Our students spent most of the fall semester finding a good topic to work on—they did a lot of research.”

After the SMCOE STEM Fair granted approval for the topics in December, students proceeded to conduct experiments. When some of the experiments didn’t go as planned, a few students modified their procedures and tried again, said Kim. Once data was collected in January, the students created charts, graphs, and tables to analyze the information. The four contenders who made it to the top round were invited to a final interview session with the judges during the fair, and awards were announced shortly thereafter.

Angela H.
First place, CSSF & Broadcom MASTERS
“Food: A World Full of Microbiomes”

Ela V. 
First Place, CCSF & Broadcom MASTERS 
“Enzymatic Browning in Avocado”

Allison M.
Second place
“What Type of Plastic Will Break Down the Quickest?”

Anna P.
Honorable mention 
“The Analysis of the Canine Microbiome”

William S.
“Homemade Water Filter”

Sean K.
“Which Fruits Can Produce the Most DNA?”

Caroline C.
“Double Masking vs. Cloth Masks, Which One is More Protective to Dust/Droplet?”