Four Olds High School students have been chosen to attend the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Regina May 14-21.
They are Grade 11 students Nicole Green and Correne Minty, along with Grade 10 students Jazzlyn Thompson and Rochelle Reeve.
Green won a gold medal at the Canada-Wide fair last year.
All four qualifed to attend the Nationals after their performance during the Central Alberta Regional Science Fair, held March 10 and 11 in Red Deer.
In fact, "all the top students (including two from Innisfail) who will be representing Central Alberta at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in May are from (the) Chinook's Edge (School Division)," says Sandy Bexon, a communications officer for the school division, which includes Olds.
During the Central Alberta Regional Science Fair, in the grade 7-12 category, Minty won Best of Fair and a gold medal for the project Hydrogen Sulphide Sensing.
Green received a gold medal for It's a Small World: the Influence of Culture Shock on International Immigrants. She was also presented with a special award.
Reeve and Thompson received a silver medal for their project: Why Can't "Eye" See?
Following are other results obtained by Olds and Bowden students at the regional fair:
GRADE 7-12
Silver Medals
Parker Mogck, Grade 10, Olds High School, How Can Modern Technology Prevent Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
Bronze Medals
Mikayla Thomson and Kim Simoneau, Grade 11, Olds High School, Coloured Flame.
Ryan Walker-Melton, Grade 11, Olds High School, My Chemical Romance.
Emma Hoppins, Grade 10, Olds High School, LEO the Lion says GER.
Erin Smith, Grade 8, Bowden Grandview School, Fruit DNA.
Justin Corbett, Grade 7, Bowden Grandview School, The Importance of Storing Feed.
GRADE 5 and 6
Silver Medal
Sarah Hoppins, Grade 5, Deer Meadow School, Exploring Enzymes
Special Awards
Justin Corbett, Bowden Grandview School
Erin Smith, Bowden Grandview School
Rosalyn Cowan Memorial Award
This award is presented in memory of the wife of a former Cremona teacher who loved and bred dogs. It goes to a winning project dealing with pets. Presley Smith and Paige Reberger, Bowden Grandview School won it this year.
Discovery Wildlife Park Pass
Awarded to Parker Mogck, Olds High School.
Central Alberta Regional Science Fair Society president Ruth Roedler says more Olds and Bowden students have received awards than she can recall in the approximately 30 years she's been involved with the fair.
Roedler has a theory as to why they were so successful.
"In Olds, it's because a lot of the students that have gone to Nationals before were from Olds, and I think that they've sort of set the bar and the others try and follow," Roedler says.
"This year, we had three projects from Grade 11. Usually they stop at Grade 10 because that's the last year it's compulsory for them. This year, we had three from Grade 11 so I think it's sort of catching on a little bit more in the high school."
Roedler is also impressed with how successful Bowden Grandview students were.
"They did very well," she says. "We're quite happy with that and I know Bowden is too. I've just heard from their teacher, actually; they're quite excited. I think it's catching on a little bit now."
Roedler notes the nationwide competition is very tough.
"We tell the kids before we even start out, that this is their prize, going on. If they come home with a medal or something, that's wonderful. If they don't, all we want is that they've had a good time," she says.
Roedler says last year's students who represented Central Alberta at the Nationals were "the best group of kids we have ever taken so far."
She's confident this group will be great as well.
"Usually they stop at Grade 10 because that's the last year it's compulsory for them. This year, we had three from Grade 11 so I think it's sort of catching on a little bit more in the high school."RUTH ROEDLER COORDINATOR CENTRAL ALBERTA REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR
