Seventh Grade Scientists Making A Difference

By Susan Coney

Seventh graders Scott Simon and Chris McCann from Cluster 7 Purple at Newtown Middle School created exceptional science projects this year in science teacher Val Leone’s class. As part of a class assignment to develop a project that would help the environment, both students took the task a step further by trying to make a difference in their immediate community.

Concerned about today’s harmful insecticides, Scott Simon chose to develop a product that would be environmentally friendly. After doing a good deal of research, Scott decided to try a combination of isopropyl alcohol, water, and canola oil. Initially the alcohol kills all the insects and it evaporates quickly and does not harm the environment. The canola oil attracts lady bugs, which naturally eat many harmful insects and larvae.

Scott approached his neighbors to gain their cooperation in trying out his new product on their garden plants. He also used the product in his mom’s garden. He photographed his results and the product he developed actually did a wonderful job of killing and preventing insect infestations.

Scott’s mom Luann Maute said, “It’s amazing, no bugs at all. He just worked so hard on it. I’m really impressed with it. He created a spray without pesticides that eliminated bugs safely.”

Not giving away any trade secrets about his recipe, Scott did say that the isopropyl alcohol had to be 91percent for the spray to be effective.

Chris McCann, also a student of Ms Leone’s, worked on a project to promote recycling and forest management conservation. He showed through his project and poster the interaction that exists between forest management and the importance of recycling paper products.

Chris showed his classmates how to make recycled paper and explained the importance of recycling.

Chris noticed that his school did not have recycling bins for paper and expressed his concerns to his teachers. The teachers told Chris that in the past Newtown Middle School always had recycling bins in every classroom. Chris wrote a persuasive letter to Principal Diane Sherlock encouraging her to bring back the paper recycling bins to the classrooms. Principal Sherlock took Chris very seriously by responding to his letter and forwarding a copy to the head of maintenance Dominic Posca. Also a letter was sent to the head custodian at Newtown Middle School, Kevin Anzellotti, in hopes that the recycling bins would be made available in all classrooms this coming fall.

The impact of a simple science assignment was taken seriously by Scott and Chris and they gained a great deal of knowledge in a variety of areas by completing the project. Both students said that they would keep pursuing their interest in the science field.