Bolles students excel at state science, Chinese competitions

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Four Bolles students participated in the recent 2016 Florida Science and Engineering Fair, achieving high commendations.

Students Shreyas Chetan, Hannah Lee, River Reynolds and Graham Ungrady participated in the competition, held March 29-31 in Lakeland. Ungrady received the St. Lucie Environmental Science Award, while Chetan received Honorable Mention in Microbiology. Lee received the Florida Entomological Society award and second place in Animal Science.

“I am very proud of the students’ achievements,” science teacher Dr. Kathryn Halloran said. “I am also thrilled they were willing to use three days of their spring break for the fair.”

Several Bolles students are competing at the national and international level in the coming weeks, she noted. Lee will compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona May 9-14, showcasing her research on spotted wing drosophila. Students Sneha Reddy and Ann Maris Walton, meanwhile, will compete in the International Sustainable World Energy Environmental Olympiad (ISWEEP) in Houston. ISWEEP invited the students to present their project “The Effects of Sulforaphane on Hyphal Connections on Mycorrhizal Fungi” following a rigorous application process, marking the first time in Bolles history science students have won an ISWEEEP invitation through this channel.

Chinese competition

In other Bolles news, 20 students participated in the 11th Annual Statewide Chinese Competition, held Feb. 20 in Miami. According to teacher Chengmei Rothschild, the students delivered an impressive performance in the competition’s speaking, reading and writing categories. Six students achieved the highest possible scores in all three categories in their respective levels, including: Julia Butler, Madison Clubb, Kunal Kanaparti, Olivia Morello, Anne Pentaleri and Natasha Pillai.

Ten students achieved one or two highest scores in the three categories in their respective levels. They include Stephanie Block, Victoria Bosch, Peyton Cochran, Alexander Cywes, Rania Farah, Alexa Geist, Quinn Kelly, Arthur Lee, Maria Muzaurieta and Jacob Piatt.