Nea Charter School Students Net County Science Awards

By Brendan Doherty

In just the first year of entry Nea students from both the middle school and high school levels brought awards at the Second Annual Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair (ACSEF).

Nea Community Learning Center, a five-year-old Alameda K-12 public charter school, entered 11 projects from both middle and high school individuals and teams. 

From this first group of entrants, eight received awards, five received at least fourth-place recognition, and two projects were chosen to compete in state and national competitions.

In total, sixteen students presented posters at the conference, held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

“We are proud of the work that the students have done here,” said Maafi Gueye, principal and lead facilitator at Nea. “We have a passion for excellence, and these students demonstrate the curiosity and follow through that are the hallmark of our school.”

Seventh graders Alanna Stokes and Brianna Thang presented a team project which garnered multiple cash awards, including first place, behavioral/social sciences category, best in category award, special award from the US Navy, and a nomination for the national Broadcom MASTERS science competition.

Their project, “The Effect of Time of Day on a Student’s Ability to Do an Academic Task” hopes to compete nationally with other middle school science projects in science, technology, engineering and math competition this fall.

“We were surprised that students were better able to perform tasks in the morning,” said Alanna Stokes, seventh grader at Nea. “We need to have more subjects, but it was interesting to see an effect.”

Going to the County Science fair was interesting for Brianna Thang, as well. “We saw a number of other interesting projects, but it was big, crowded, and we had to stand around for a long time in our uncomfortable shoes.”

The poster was presented March 27 at the Nea Science Colloquium, held in the classrooms of the mid and high schoolers. In the Colloquium, every student from 6^th-12^th grade presented a research poster. Next year, the poster program will expand to include the K-5 grades.

“Scientific inquiry is an important process,” said Niki Patel, 7^th grade facilitator at Nea. “Students work through their ideas, learn to present them, and learn from each other. There are some essential skills that are developed in the process. At the school, we’ve been able to build the expectation of excellence, and it’s great to see kids reaching for it.”

Alameda County Middle School Participants included:

Brianna Thang and Alanna Stokes  (7th grade: Niki Patel):  

The Effect of Time of Day on a Student's Ability to Do an Academic Task

• 1st Place, Behavioral/Social Sciences category & nomination for the national Broadcom MASTERS science competition + cash award
• Best in Category Award & California State Science Fair alternates
• Special Award form the US Navy + cash award  

Noah Whitley and Christopher Young (7th Grade: Niki Patel):  

The Effect of Acid Rain on the Root System of Native California Grasses

• 4th place, Biological Sciences category

Ryan Finer and Alex Orla-Bukowski (7th grade: Connor Snow and Niki Patel, respectively):  
Revenge of the Heart Rate

• 3rd Place, Behavior and Social Sciences category

Alexandra Kimwell (7th grade: Connor Snow): Medical Biotechnology

Charlie Van Heuit (7th grade: Niki Patel): The Effect of Number of Users on the Amount of Bacteria Present on a Computer Keyboard

Victoria Avery & Amelia Dayton (8th grade: Vinicio Merlino): Bone Calcium in Animals

Ethan Woon & Alexander Webb (8th grade: Vinicio Merlino): The Effect of Magnetism on a Water Current

High School Participants included:

Brian Elder (11th grade, Connor Snow): Effects of Hypergravity on Plant Development

• 1st  place in Botany Category + cash award 
• Best in Category Award and California State Science Fair alternate

Ian Linke (11th grade:  Connor Snow): Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression

• 4th place in Behavior and Social Sciences Category

Tony Nguyen (10th grade, Feifei Cai): Elasticity

Ben Dietz (10th grade, Feifei Cai): The Effects of Magnetism on Plant Growth