Grand Avenue Middle School was abuzz with innovation and discovery on May 16, as students, families, and faculty gathered for the first student-hosted in-house Science Fair.  

The fair was a culmination of the year-long work of Tami Cruz’s eighth-grade Science Research Class.  

These students are part of an elective offered at both Grand Avenue and Merrick Avenue Middle Schools. At Grand Avenue, these students are also a part of a unique Science Research Club, called SNoCS. 

“SNoCS is short for the Students Network of Cooperative Science,” explained Heather Bizewski, a science chairperson. “These students dedicate their Friday afternoons to scientific research from 2:41 to 5 p.m. nearly every Friday.” 

This year, students from both middle schools showcased the work that they presented at three prestigious Science Fairs across Long Island: The Long Island Science and Engineering Fair (LISEF), the South Asian Women’s Alliance (SAAWA), and the Long Island Science Congress (LISC).   

“They placed in both the LISEF and SAAWA competitions and now look forward to hearing about their results in the Long Island Science Congress at the awards ceremony on June 13,” added Bizewski. 

Two teams tied for third place in the Biology category. Sean Dietrich earned recognition for his project, Depth vs. Origin: Which Has a Greater Effect on the Growth of a Cassotrea virginica Oyster?  

“I wanted to see how growing more oysters in an area can help filter out pollution,” Dietrich explained at the fair.  

While Thomas d’Alessandro, Dhrubojeet Das, and Dagur Moi also received third place honors for their collaborative project, How Does pH Affect Brassica rapa Found in Local Soil Compared to a Simulation of Southwest London? Additionally, Ash Katz and Elizabeth O'Toole received an Honorable Mention in the Biology category for their project, Does Low-Level Light Therapy Help Planaria Regenerate Successfully Compared to Aloe vera?" 

Katz and O’Toole worked on their project for a month and a half after observing social media trends of people using red light therapy for health reasons.  

From Merrick Avenue, Daniel Yanpolski and Mason Wan earned second place in the Environmental Science category for their project, Of Plastics and Planaria. Lehvy Bernstein, Kostis Hall, Jonathan Mirra earned Honorable Mention in the Physical Science category for their project, Which 3D printed bridge design can hold the most weight? 

Their teacher is Brianna Replogle.