by Dennis Dalman – news@thenewsleaders.com
The hard work of 40 Sartell Middle School students paid off when their school was named “tops” at the Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair and Research Paper Competition at St. Cloud State University.
At the fair, Sartell Middle School earned the “Top School” award for the highest percentage of students with purple ribbons and special awards. Twenty-three other schools from the region competed at the fair. The total scientific projects presented totaled 250 from grades 6-12, with 40 of those projects created by Sartell-St. Stephen students who received nine purple ribbons and many other ribbons and special awards.
The “Top School” award, the judges noted, speaks well not only for the students but for the science teachers at Sartell Middle School – Angela McSorley, eighth grade; Gina Anderson, seventh grade; and Jason Anderson, Gary Rosin and Mike Holman, sixth grade.
Nine of the SMS students, who won purple ribbons, will advance to state competition in April. They and their projects are: Kali Killmer and Monte Belmont, seventh grade: Fertilizer: Friend or Foe; Maddie Theischafer and Becca Kucala, seventh grade: Pathogens, Bacteria and Germs – Oh My!”; Rory Spanier, eighth grade: Video Gaming for the Blind; Eric Schatz, eighth grade: Propeller Efficiency; Sydney Thieschafer, eighth grade: Shaping Up to Disappear; Rameen Dogar, eighth grade: Eyewitness Testimony; and Josh Maricle-Roberts, eighth grade: Deforestation and Effects on the Iberian Lynx.
The award-winning sixth-grade students and their projects are: Anna Lehto: Dimple Drop; Elizabeth Millhouse: Salty Surroundings; Cindy Zhang: Spy; Jacob Miller: How Far Will It Fly?; Elizabeth Ruder: Does Color Make a Difference?; Brinn Alervok and Rachel Ditmarson: Fizzy Fireworks; and Logan Jesperson and Jack Hackenmueller: Rapid Reverse.
The following special awards were given: American Psychological Association: Rory Spanier; Naval Science Award: Rory Spanier; Broadcam Masters Award: Lehto, Maddie and Sydney Thieschafer, Kucala, Dogar and Schatz.
