January+announcements

=There will be a mandatory meeting after school on Wednesday, January 18th.= By this point, you must know for certain whether you are entering the fair. Please bring 15 dollars if you plan to enter the Project Session of the fair and 30 dollars if you plan to enter both the Paper Session and Project Session of the fair. This is a per student fee. You also must know the title of your project and you may not enter a title that is more than 75 characters in length. =Important Information about Paper Session= The advantage of paper session is that there are not as many participants. Last year every student entering qualified for the state paper session. Remember that in order to enter paper session, your paper must be done by **February 1st**. This means you must have data, analysis and a conclusion. However, when you go to the Paper Session in March, you **may** bring an addendum if you have more data you have collected in the mean time. The paper may not be more than 30 pages, so if need be, condense the number of pages you use for graphs and data tables. We can help you with this. Also, we can make multiple copies of it, as long as you give us one properly formatted copy. The way paper session is different from project session is that you present using a PowerPoint, rather than a poster, and your judges have read your paper more carefully than they do in Project Session. The paper session will take place on **Wednesday, March 14th** after school. This weekend would be a great time to get your paper done. We (Mrs. Ragusa and Mrs. Palffy) can review it and give you suggestions so that you can have a final copy by February 1st. If you already have data, we strongly encourage you to do this. =New Opportunity in Wheeling to Present and Compete= Student research has become more and more important and there are more competitions coming along. This is great for you, since all of the hard work you have put into your projects can be used more than once for a competition. In addition, it is great for the scientific world, as with each competition, more people get to see what you did and discovered. We are very excited that there are more venues for your research. The newest one is The Midwest Research Competition POSITIVE IMPACT Here is the information:

//"POSITIVE IMPACT is a unique high// //school event focused on showcasing original investigations designed// //and carried out by students. This opportunity is for students in// //grades nine through twelve to share their original research in a// //one-day event held at Wheeling High School on Friday, April 13, 2012.// //The overarching theme for this competition and conference is: How can// //high school students use their ideas to have a positive impact on the// //world around them? Experts from the private sector as well as high// //school and university instructors will assist in the evaluation// //process. Individual students or groups of students with projects from// //all academic disciplines are encouraged to participate."//

So Basically, you will use your paper that you wrote for Science Fair and present using a PowerPoint to judges. This particular competition offers cash prizes, but more info on that later. The catch to this one is that your paper must be done by the end of February. Also, you will miss school that day. Again, if you have your project done by the due date, we strongly encourage you to attend. Also, there is NO ENTRY FEE.

=Reminder about ISU= There is another April opportunity that we have mentioned in the past, but here is a reminder: On **Friday, April 27th,** there is a research symposium at Illinois State University. This one would involve your poster, but not your paper. You would miss the day of school but there is no entry fee. We will leave before school and come back in the evening. Another great opportunity for you to present and see other students' work. There is NO ENTRY FEE for this one either. You can use the same poster as you did for the Regional Fair.

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