Do those bags of soil you buy at the store really retain more water than the plain old “dirt” in your back yard? Just ask St. Andrew’s 6th Graders Joanna Assadourian and Victoria Waters, winners of this year’s St. Andrew’s Middle School Science Fair, and they’ll not only give you an answer, they’ll show you the data to prove it. Their detailed charts and illustrations show that actually -- the dirt from you backyard likely retains water better than the expensive potting soils you purchase from the store.

Joanna and Victoria beat out numerous other 6th, 7th and 8th graders who competed as individuals and teams – to win the coveted Best in Show honor at this year’s Science Fair. Students conducted research in one of five scientific areas of study; Applied Science; Botany; Chemistry, Environmental Sciences; and Medicine, Health & Microbiology.

Work began last semester and culminated in late January when all of the projects were submitted for judging. Students were responsible for coming up with a hypothesis, conducting the research and presenting results. In addition to the Best in Show honor awarded to Miss Assadourian and Miss Waters, top honors were also awarded in each of the five categories. Category Prizes were awarded as follows:

• Applied Science: Darian Gleghorn and Joie Parker for Fat or Fiction
• Botany: Camila Conde for Which Soil Works
• Chemistry: Rahel Tekeste for Comparing Antacids
• Environmental Science: Joanna Assadourian & Victoria Waters for Radical Retention
• Medicine, Health & Microbiology: Gordon McCormack for Potty Problems

Judging, which was reported to be very tough this year, was conducted by independent community volunteers and representatives from Pantex, BSA, and Zachry Engineering. According to Middle School Science Teacher, Sara Burkhard, many of the students will continue to fine tune their projects and go on to compete in regional competitions this Spring.