SCIENCE
Jr-Sr High

Joseph Dumoulin BS Physics, MS Engineering Physics
Life Science
Physics

Renate Moore BS Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry

Holly Baldwin BS Environmental Science, MST Earth Science
Physical and Earth Science

SCIENCE FAIR
We have competed for the last eight years against other schools in our area at the Regional Science Fair at SUNY Plattsburgh. This year students in grade 8 and grade 11 will prepare projects. The grade 8 students will do projects involving environemental science. Students in grade 11 Chemistry will be involved in an environmental chemistry unit at Miner Institute. Upon completion of this unit the students will present their lab findings at the science fair. The science faculty works under direction from Dr. Roger Sandwick at SUNY Plattsburgh for the timeline and formats.

ECOLOGY OF SCHOOL POND
This is a four year project from grade seven through grade ten. The goal of the project is two-fold. One is to teach the students techniques of scientific data collections and to have an understanding of their environment that they could use in dealing with environmental issues that may impact their community. The second is to generate interest in science so as to entice students to further studies in science. Beginning in grade 7, the students are assigned plots along the pond periphery where they are responsible for measuring abiotic factors and collecting and identifying aquatic and shore organisms in the assigned plot. They store their information on computer to allow for analysis and retrieval at later times. In grade 8, the students study pond water chemistry. In grade 9, the students study the climate in the area and its effect upon the pond as well as soil chemistry. In grade 10, the students study life in the plot in more detail than they did in grade 7. The Toshiba America Foundation has funded this project through a grant. The students have already completed one year on the project. New 7th graders have been introduced while the 8th graders (second year students to the project) have moved on to the second phase. This year has seen the students collecting more organisms than in the previous year. The students have also noticed that organisms are found accoring to the conditions of their environment. The 8th grade students , on their initial chemical analysis, found that the pond is a "safe" place for organisms to live in. They seemed somewhat dismayed at these good results since they were hoping for something "bad" to be in the pond. The project will include a day out in the winter this year, with the students taking data through the ice. The project then will begin in the spring again.

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
For the last two years a team of 15 students has participated in SCIENCE OLYMPIAD competition at Clarkson University against other high school teams from Northern New York State. We have excelled with first, second and third place awards in technology, such as bridge building, physics, chemistry, and biology. The faculty is canvassing the science students for new team members to replace students who have graduated. The preparation process will begin in full swing after the December break.

CCRS CHEMISTRY AT MINER INSTITUTE
This year the science department has included a unit on environmental chemistry in the Chemistry curriculum. Renate Moore and Steven Kramer (Director of Lab Studies at Miner Institute) have been awarded a $6300 grant from the Toshiba America Foundation to fund this project. Students will be involved in 5 laboratory exercises that will introduce them to water and soil chemistry, acid precipitation, and dissolved oxygen and aquatic ecosystems. Students will travel to Miner Institute to work on the labs. They will prepare presentations for the annual science fair at SUNY Plattsburgh and the school Open House in the spring.