The San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) announced the winners of the 59th Annual San Joaquin County Science and Engineering Fair earlier this month at the Community Science Night and Awards Ceremony. Judges spent two days reviewing 166 individual, group, and whole-class projects submitted by more than 445 K-12 students in the county. On the fourth day 18 selected students were interviewed by judges to determine the winners. In all, 15 schools from five school districts, three private schools, and one charter school participated in the fair.
Several students from Dent Elementary School were among the honorees.
In the Kindergarten through Second Grade competition, Aniston Hunt of Dent took first place for the project, “Soaking Through” and second place went to Cade Reisenbeck of Dent for the project, “YETI vs. RTIC.”
At the Third through Fifth Grade level, fourth place honors went to Rylan Koops of Dent for the “Straw Rocket Flight” project.
Hunt received a cash award of $175 for first place honors, Reisenbeck earned $125 and Koops received a $150 award.
Dent Elementary teacher Mrs. Gregory, who helps organize the school’s participation in the Science Fair, received a $100 NASCO Card.
Other Dent Elementary students receiving ‘Excellent’ or ‘Superior’ Ribbons for their projects included: Kali Castellanos, Cheyenne Ratkiewicz, Theodore Harp, Wyatt Riesenbeck, Drew Hagan and Vivianne Harp.
The last day of the countywide fair included project viewing and a “Mad Science” presentation. The awards ceremony concluded the evening. Awards were determined by volunteer judges’ evaluations. This year, 35 professionals from the community helped judge the projects and conduct interviews to determine the winners.
The SJCOE Office of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) seeks to promote science and engineering exploration and understanding for students. Each year, SJCOE awards thousands of dollars to students and teachers who exhibit and articulate superior levels of understanding in the areas of science and engineering.
The Synopsys Outreach Foundation donated cash prizes for students. Additionally, cash prizes were awarded to top contenders from the San Joaquin County Office of Education Educational Foundation.
