For the third year in a row, Ascencion Solorsano Middle School
students cleaned up at the county science fair.
For the third year in a row, Ascencion Solorsano Middle School students cleaned up at the county science fair.
From zapping plant tumors to testing turkey’s resistance to antibiotics, science teacher Dawn O’Connor’s students weren’t wallflowers at the recent regional competition where they competed against public and private school students from across Santa Clara County.
“The thing that’s most exciting for me personally is that a lot of my students have chosen projects that are very unique,” O’Connor said.
In addition to coming up with unusual projects that answer real-world questions, her students are getting used to seeing their names at the top of the list – Solorsano won the Outstanding School Award for the third year in a row and O’Connor won the Outstanding Teacher Award this year.
But the students aren’t finished celebrating just yet. On May 18 and 19, O’Connor will fly with five of her students down to Los Angeles for the state science fair to test their projects against those of about 500 other middle and high school students.
Solorsano students work long hours after school to make up for the lack of time allowed during the regular school day to really dig into a particular topic, O’Connor said, and she takes pride in seeing her students follow an area of interest from beginning to end.
“To do research, to do the actual activity and analyze the data is not something we get a chance to do anymore in public schools,” O’Connor said. “The sense of working on an idea that’s puzzling to you from start to finish is what I love to see.”
Students who will go to the state science competition in Los Angeles:
– Tara Clark, eighth grade
– Michaela Zertuche, eighth grade
Project: “Nano Nano” in biochemistry/microbiology
– Keegan Dahm, seventh grade
Project: “What Is the Long Term Effect of Electricity and Metal On Plant Tumors?” in chemistry
– Laura Tovar, eighth grade
– Perla Virgen-Silva, eighth grade
Project: “Can Snails be Used as an Indicator for Toxins in Your Garden” in environ. sciences
– Alison Day, sixth grade alternate
To make a donation, contact Dawn O’Connor at 848-4121.
