D146’s Fierke Education Center Holds Science Fair

On Friday, April 5th, Fierke Education Center in Oak Forest, held its Bi-Annual Science Fair during school hours in the gym.  All students in grades 2-5 were eligible to participate.

Mr. Mark French, principal of the school, said, “Our sponsors, teachers Miss Katie Feldkamp and Mrs. Sharon Stec, put a lot of hard work into this event and did a great job. I was very impressed with our students’ hard work.  We had 56 projects turned in and 83 students participated in all.  The fair was a huge success.”

The criteria presented was very challenging and the teachers encouraged students to follow a specific Scientific Method. Mrs. Stec, a 1st grade teacher said, “We were pleased to see such a great interest across the grade levels. The level of involvement from the students at Fierke was excellent.  The students did a remarkable job. It was truly exciting for us as educators to witness the students’ curiosity and have them ‘wonder’ about life.”

Fierke celebrated their students’ works schoolwide.  Students from all classrooms viewed the exhibits.   Mrs. Stec said, “Our hope (by having the students view the display) was to reduce or eliminate any apprehension a student may have about getting involved at the next fair. “

This year’s panel of judges included: Mrs. Ankarlo, Mrs. Scanlon, Ms. Cronin, Mr. French, Mrs. Stec, Mrs. Williams, and Miss Dykema. They were explicitly looking for the students to be able to share what they learned based on questions that they asked. Miss Feldkamp said, “Students did a much better job this year of explaining their investigations to the judges and being able to answer questions. It was exciting for the students. I am looking forward to our Science Fair in the upcoming school year.”