January 7, 2016
Dear School Community,
Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies is pleased to announce that this year’s K-8 science fair will be held on Thursday, March 3 and Friday, March 4, 2016. We hope that your child will participate and support our goal of record participation this year.
The science fair is a great way to generate student interest and excitement around science. Through their projects, students learn to:
THINK like scientists by developing and testing their hypotheses and gathering and interpreting data; DEVELOP their organizational skills by planning and executing their experiments; and ENHANCE their writing and oral presentation skills by explaining their methods and process to others.
A science fair project challenges a student to solve a question using the scientific method. Students may choose any science-related topic of interest to them. Some examples from previous years include:
Does the shape of a parachute affect how fast it will drop? What liquid will have the biggest explosion when Mentos are added to it? Can static electricity make a balloon stick? Which liquids conduct electricity? How far does a paper airplane fly with different folding designs? Will a plant grow fastest and biggest with water, water and eggshells, or orange juice?
Students are encouraged to brainstorm science fair project ideas with teachers, parents, friends and others. The internet and library are also great resources for science fair topic suggestions. Please see our school’s science fair webpage, district65.net/sciencefair, for links to science fair project ideas and for additional resources to assist your child in doing his/her project.
Science fair proposals should be submitted online no later than January 21, 2016 at the following link: tinyurl.com/hqeewff; hard copies are also available at the front office. Students may work on projects individually or in groups of two. Please keep in mind that projects are to be done by the children themselves, with adult support only where necessary. Unless your child’s teacher indicates otherwise, all science fair projects are to be done outside of class.
To support students who need additional assistance or guidance on their projects, this year we will be offering two drop-in workshops, which will be staffed by scientist volunteers from the community. The first workshop will focus on topic selection and experimentation and is scheduled for Thursday, January 14 and Friday, January 15 from 11am-1pm in the library; the second workshop will focus on analysis and presentation boards and is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8 and Friday, February 10 from 11am-1pm in the library. Sign-up sheets for the workshops will be posted outside the library; interested students will need a hall pass to participate and should therefore sign up ahead of time. The science fair will be open to parents, families, friends and other community members on Thursday, March 3 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. On Friday, March 4, student scientists will present their projects to volunteer judges; students will also have an opportunity to view their peers’ projects during the school day.
A copy of the online proposal form, a list of frequently asked questions, and a timeline are attached to this letter. Should you have additional questions, please contact Hillary Coustan at [email protected].
We hope to see you and your child at the Science Fair next month!
Lauren Norwood, Principal Science Fair Committee Proposal Form
Please submit your child's science fair proposal ONLINE, by Thursday, January 21, at tinyurl.com/hqeewff; hard copies are also available at the front office. Only one submission per project, please. All proposals will be reviewed by Ms. Fusinatto and parent volunteers, and they will contact you by February 1st if they have any questions or suggestions regarding your proposal. To that end, please ensure that all contact information provided in the form is accurate; failure to provide accurate contact information may affect a student's participation in the science fair.
* Required • Participant's First Name *
• Participant's Last Name *
• Participant's Grade *
1 Kindergarten
2 First
3 Second
4 Third
5 Fourth
6 Fifth
7 Sixth
8 Seventh
9 Eighth
• Participant's Teacher's Last Name *
• Participant's Parent/Guardian Name *
• Participant's Parent/Guardian Email Address *
• Participant's Parent/Guardian Phone Number *
• Students may have one partner. Do you have a partner? *
• If yes, please enter his/her information below, INCLUDING CONTACT INFORMATION.
1 Yes
2 No • Partner's First Name
• Partner's Last Name
• Partner's Grade
1 Kindergarten
2 First
3 Second
4 Third
5 Fourth
6 Fifth
7 Sixth
8 Seventh
9 Eighth
• Partner's Teacher's Last Name
• Partner's Parent/Guardian Name
• Partner's Parent/Guardian Email Address
• Partner's Parent/Guardian Phone Number
• Science Fair Project Title *Please note that titles should be in the form of a question.
• Description of Science Fair Project *What will you do?
• What materials will you need to do your project? *Please note that flammable materials, including bleach, are not permitted.
• At the science fair, I expect that my project set-up will require the following *
1 Liquid
2 Electrical outlet
3 None of the above
• I agree that I have gone over the Science Packet information with my child and will support the project and work with them to get the project to school on the afternoon of March 3rd and pick up March 4th.
• Parent/guardian: Please indicate your agreement by typing your name below. 2016 Science Fair
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. My child really wants to participate, but I don’t know how to support him/her. What should I do? A. Please encourage your child to attend one of our drop-in workshops. The first workshop will focus on topic selection and experimentation and is scheduled for Thursday, January 14 and Friday, January 15 from 11am-1pm in the library; the second workshop will focus on analysis and presentation boards and is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8 and Friday, February 10 from 11am-1pm in the library. Sign- up sheets will be posted outside the library.
Q. Are all proposals accepted? If there is a problem with my child’s proposal, how will we know ahead of time? A. All proposals will be reviewed by Ms. Fusinatto, Bessie Rhodes’ middle school science teacher, as well as a parent volunteer. If they have any questions or concerns about a proposal, they will reach out to the student and parent directly.
Q. When and where is set-up for science fair? A. Set-up will take place after school on Thursday, from 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Please note that all participating students must set up their projects by 5:30 pm on Thursday or they will not be permitted to take part in judging or display their projects.
Q. During the science fair, can students do demonstrations involving food or liquids? A. Students are explicitly prohibited from using materials that pose a potential safety hazard, such as bleach or ammonia. If you have questions regarding the safety of a particular material, please consult with Ms. Fusinatto, the middle school science teacher.
Q. When can parents, grandparents, and other community members view the science fair? A. The science fair will be open to the public on Thursday, March 3 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Q. Will there be babysitting available on Thursday night? A. Yes! There will be complimentary babysitting from 5pm to 6:30pm.
Q. Will other students who didn't participate be able to view the science fair? A. Yes, each classroom will visit the science fair at some point during the school day on Friday, March 4.
Q. When is the judging taking place? A. Judging will take place on Friday morning between 9am and 12pm. Teachers will direct participating students to the gym at specified times to discuss their projects in small groups.
Q. Can parents observe the judging portion of the science fair? A. No. Parents are not permitted to be present during their children's presentation(s) on Friday morning. Only school staff, participating students, and volunteers may be present during judging.
Q. Is the judging going to be very competitive or intense? A. No, the judging is intended to give the students an opportunity to discuss their projects and obtain feedback, and to hear about some of their fellow students' projects.
Q. Who are the judges? A. Professors, graduate students, former teachers, and science professionals from the Evanston/Skokie community.
Q. What will happen during judging? A. Each student will present his/her project to a group of 3-4 fellow students and 3 judges. Each presentation should cover the following: question, hypothesis, experiment/methods, data, and conclusions. There will also be an opportunity for judges and fellow students to ask questions. Students in grades K-2 will receive oral feedback, but will not be scored; students in grades 3-8 will be scored according to the rubrics (which are attached to this packet).
Q. What criteria will be used for scoring students in grades 3-8? A. A student's final score is a combination of the display (70%) and the presentation (30%). The judging rubric is attached. Judges will further be instructed to adjust their expectations according to grade level.
Q. What awards will be distributed? A. All students who participate in science fair will attend a lunch party and receive a certificate of participation and a science-oriented gift. In addition, we will distribute "outstanding project" ribbons to the top 3 students per grade in grades 3-8, as well as medals to the top student in grades 3-5 and 6-8; the recipients of those awards will be announced over the loudspeaker at the end of the school day on Friday afternoon.
Q. When is the lunch party? Should my child still attend lunch with his/her class? A. The lunch party will be from 12:00-12:25 for grades K-2, and from 12:35-1:00 for grades 3-8. We will serve pizza, carrots and apples. Aside from when they are in the gymnasium for judging or at the lunch party, students should follow their regular class schedule (including lunch). Parents will need to decide ahead of time whether their child(ren) should eat with their class and/or wait to eat at the lunch party. We will not be providing snacks during the science fair.
Q. How can I volunteer? A. If you are interested in volunteering on either Thursday or Friday, please email [email protected] as soon as possible and specify your availability.
Q. When do we take home the displays? A. Students should remove their displays after school on Friday, March 4th, between 2:45 and 4:15 p.m.
2016 Science Fair Timeline Thursday, January 14 and Friday, January 15, 2016 11am-1pm: Workshop #1 - Figuring out what I want to do, how and why?
Thursday, January 21, 2016 Proposals Due. Submit at ______.
Wednesday, February 8 and Friday, February 10, 2016 11am-1pm: Workshop #2 – Analysis and Presentation Boards.
Thursday, March 3, 2016 2:45-5:30: Science Fair Set up 5:30-6:30: Science Fair Open to Public
Friday, March 4, 2016 9:00-12:00: Judging 12:00-12:25: Pizza party for participants in grades K-2 12:35-1:00: Pizza party for participants in grades 3-8 2:45-4:15: Pick-up Presentation Boards NAME GRADE HOMEROOM
Science Fair Project Display CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 SCORE Clarity Project display is Project display is Project display is Project display is very neat, mostly neat and partially neat but messy, illegible, attractive and the project is self elements are and illogical. sequential -explanatory. indiscernible. Creativity Project is Project is Project is Project is presented presented in a presented in a presented in a uniquely and standard manner standard bland and imaginatively. with a few manner. uninspired unique features. manner.
Thoroughness Project Project Project Project has represents an represents an represents little incomplete data extraordinary adequate effort resulting in and lacks a amount of time amount of time conclusion. conclusion. and effort and effort to resulting in a result in a complete data suitable set and conclusion. conclusion. Skill Project appears Project shows Project shows Project appears to have been signs of parental signs of student to have been produced 100% guidance but is input but is produced by the student. mostly produced mostly produced completely by by student. by parent. parent or guardian. Scientific Thought Procedures were Procedures were Procedures were Procedures did designed to designed to related to an not relate to a result in an result in an experiment but scientific pursuit. effective investigation that were not experiment. was partially connected to the related the original project investigation. investigation. Safety Project was Project is safe Materials in Project and conducted and but could have display are materials used presented safely resulted in a potentially are unsafe and or under proper dangerous unsafe if harmful. adult outcome. unsupervised. supervision.
Understanding Project is age Student displays Student displays Project is not appropriate and understanding of very limited age appropriate the student some elements understanding of and the student displays and of the project but the project does not understanding of lacks on certain elements. illustrate all elements. concepts. understanding. TOTAL (out of 28 possible points) NAME GRADE HOMEROOM
Science Fair Oral Presentation CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 SCORE Content Shows a full Shows a good Shows a good Does not seem understanding of understanding of understanding of to understand the topic. the topic. parts of the the topic very topic. well. Comprehension Student is able Student is able Student is able Student is to accurately to accurately to accurately unable to answer almost answer most answer a few answer all questions questions posed questions posed questions posed posed by by by by teacher/classma teacher/classma teacher/classma teacher/classma tes about the tes about the tes about the tes about the topic. topic. topic. topic. Preparedness Student is Student seems Student is Student does completely very prepared. somewhat not seem at all prepared. prepared. prepared to present. Stays on Topic Stays on topic Stays on topic Stays on topic It was hard to 100% of the 90-99% of the 75-89% of the tell what the time. time. time. topic was. Speaks Clearly Speaks clearly Speaks clearly Speaks clearly Often mumbles and distinctly all and distinctly and distinctly or can not be of the time. most of the time. some of the understood. time. Posture and Eye Stands up Stands up Sometimes Slouches and/or Contact straight and straight and stands up does not look at looks relaxed establishes eye straight and people during and confident. contact with establishes eye the presentation. Establishes eye people in the contact. contact with room during the people in the presentation. room during the presentation. Listens to Other Listens intently. Listens intently. Sometimes does Sometimes does Presentations Does not make But make one not appear to be not appear to be distracting distracting noise listening but is listening and noises or or movement. not distracting. has some movements. distracting noises or movements. TOTAL (out of 28 possible points)
Comments: ______