GASTONIA — St. Michael School eighth-grader Samuel Cook recently took first place in the Science Division of the 11th annual Gaston Regional Science and Engineering Fair at The Schiele Museum earlier this month. Fellow student Amy Okonkwo won second place.
Cook won top overall middle school honors in last year’s competition with his project “You’ve Been Strooped,” where he analyzed the Stroop Effect and how well people of different age groups were able to say the color of a word but not the name of the word.
This year, Cook returned to the fair with his entry “The Spice is Right,” where he analyzed whether certain spices have antibacterial properties, and if so, which spices are more effective at preventing bacterial growth. He also conducted research in a science laboratory with an instructor at Belmont Abbey College.
“I’m also trying to step it up,” said Cook, of his project this year. “It was really fun because all of the equipment (at Belmont Abbey), it’s really fun and precise to use.”
— The Gaston Gazette
ASHEVILLE — Asheville Catholic School students prepared Thanksgiving boxes for newly arrived refugee families who experienced the American holiday of Thanksgiving for the first time this year.
Students decorated the boxes and included handmade cards to go with all the fixings needed for a Thanksgiving meal. Mary Beale and Lisa Vigue of Asheville Catholic School helped coordinate the donation with Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte staff member Svetlana Gundorin.
— Photos courtesy of Facebook
