Lake County Gazette

The Northbrook Junior High (NBJH) ISR Science students secured first place at the Region 6 Division C Illinois Junior Academy of Science regional competition, held on Saturday, March 8, at Wheeling High School. This achievement marks the second consecutive year NBJH has received the most gold awards of any school participating in the fair, earning them the Division C trophy.

A total of 38 students participated in the event, with 31 earning gold awards. Due to a high number of participants from the region, 22 students will advance to the state science fair scheduled for May 1-3 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

To qualify for regionals, students had to receive gold awards at their school- based competition. Each student presented their science research project to a panel of three judges as part of a semester-long independent science research class. The judges evaluated oral presentations, written work, and the scientific method used in experiments based on the Illinois Jr. Academy of Science rubric.

In addition to qualifying for state competition, several students earned special recognition:

- Reese Mueller (Best in Category - Behavioral)

- Katie Yoon (Best in Category - Environmental Science; Illinois Water Environment Association Award; Qral Ventures Life Sciences Award)

- Sophie Kleckner (Iota Sigma Pi: The National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry - Honorable Mention)

- Madeline Feeney (Ivan Pavlov Behavioral Science Award)

- Cameron Pecora (Best in Category - Chemistry)

Special thanks were extended to ISR teachers Lauren Johnson, Amber Paull, and Fred Yoon who coached students throughout the semester as they designed and conducted their research projects. These teachers also sponsored them at local, regional, and state science fairs.