St. Joseph School congratulates thirteen eighth graders who presented their eight projects at the 2011 IJAS State Science Fair at the University of Illinois in Champaign on May 6 & 7. Seven Gold awards and one Silver award were received. Gold winners included: Evan Culligan for “Materials to Heat Energy,” Ryan Donofrio for “How Low Does the Dough Go?”, Sean Harnik for “London Bridge is Falling Down,” Shannon Kennedy and Daina Polikaitis for “The Water Absorbency of Fabric,” Megan Kitz and Angelica Naber for “The Effect of Radiation on Radish Seed Germination,” Kayla Lindemann and Hannah McGrath for “Soakin’ Up Oil,” Rachel Watson and Clare Morrison for “Can You Hear Me Now?” Silver winners included Maggie Johnson and Monica Lim for their project, “Got Pain.

St. Joseph Middle School Science teachers Erin VanIderstine & Michelle DeBruler are instrumental in St. Joseph's science fair process. While all of the 8th graders participated in the creation of science projects, only eight could move on to the Regional and State levels. With these two teachers and the support of all the other middle school teachers, students have many mentors during this process. This year’s group achieved the best scoring ever for St. Joseph and these fine teachers deserve accolades for their added efforts of support and extra hours put forth in this Science Fair process.