For the third consecutive year, teams from the W.T. Clarke Middle School seventh-grade honors science research program have been named semifinalists in the Christopher Columbus Awards competition.
The nationwide competition invites middle school students to identify a community issue, conduct research and propose a solution. Thirty semifinalist teams were selected from hundreds of entries submitted from across the nation.
The first group of students, The Triclosanators, focused on the dangers of triclosan — a chemical commonly found in household items, including acne cream, soaps and toothpastes. Team members included Mustaf Dervisi, Kaywan Javdan, Eshan Shakrani and Makaeel Sheikh.
During their research, they learned the East Meadow School District has consciously not purchased products which contain triclosan for a number of years. The students created a website, designed posters and implemented a public service announcement on Rams Live. In addition, they created and tested their own triclosan-free soap and wrote to companies, such as Procter & Gamble, asking to remove triclosan from their products.
The second semifinalist team, The Plastic Patrol, included students John Barry, Megan Delaney and Henry Qi. The team identified the issue of ocean and bay pollution due to garbage and waste being disposed of in storm drains. Students designed and tested a more efficient storm drain model to address garbage buildup. They also worked with Operation Splash, an environmental organization, to adopt four storm drains in Westbury. Working with Operation Splash, the team stenciled “Drains to Ocean” by the four drains to encourage residents to responsibly dispose of trash and waste.
The science research program at Clarke Middle School is co-taught by seventh-grade science teachers Donna Delvecchio and Wendy Wansor and English teacher Cindy Dale. The district congratulates these students and teachers on this achievement.
↧