My first Publication 1926874721_Alumni_Magazine_June_2010 | страница 9

Issue 3, June 2010
students’ interest. Formulas which are
only theory for them will come alive very
quickly in the lab.
Another project that was undertaken
with Grade 10 this year was dedicated
to visits to different laboratories in the
Institute of Polymers at the Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences. The objectives of
this ambitious project were:
-To directly link the theoretical
knowledge gained in class with real
life situations and scientific research
in the field of Organic chemistry and
Polymers.
-To increase students’ confidence
in the methods of scientific inquiry
– from research and planning to
performing the experiment.
-To make students aware of the
enormous potential in scientific
research and inquiry where they could
be active participants in the future.
Science Fair 2009 - 11 Graders Stephanie Karanyotova, Mariya lapteva and Yasen Panev
present their project “The Pop-pop Boat” - first place winner in the Model Category
projects. The latest edition of the Science
Fair in December 2009 introduced a new
category – Project Model. In addition to
the theoretical research on the concept
they had chosen, students were required
to create a model showing a function or
demonstrating a process. The Science Fair
gives students with a marked interest and
distinct talent in science the opportunity
to demonstrate their knowledge during
the course of preparation for the fair
and on the day of the event. To give you
an example, we have chosen a project
from the latest edition of the fair, that
won the second place in the Experiment
Category – “Investigation on the Ozone
Level in Different Parts of Sofia” by
Pavel Kounov, Grade 10 /see page 8/. geography students were assigned a
topic and then reviewed, explored,
and produced a game about that topic.
In every subject we have remarkable
examples. Here we will quote Dr.
Trendafilova who reports about her
Chemistry 10 course this year:
A major objective of the Science
Department is learning how to improve
science teaching and bring our students
to a higher level of understanding the
role of science in society. In all subjects
-Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Physical
Geography - teachers use various
teaching methods. In the current school
year (2009-2010) plenty of projects or
other activities and assignments can be
described to demonstrate this. Even
the review for the semester exam can
be surprisingly fun, too. In Physical Grade 10 students are engaged in two
very interesting activities in Chemistry
this year. The Organic Chemistry
club focused on “Extraction of caffeine
from tea” at the beginning of the second
semester. The main aim of the club was
to help students become familiar with
some chemistry methods and procedures
–extraction, filtration, and thin layer
chromatography (TLC). This came as a
supplement to what they were studying
in class. The “real” synthesis of aspirin
in our laboratory has also attracted
“Although during the last decade fewer
students have undertaken scientific
careers, science continues to fascinate
young people and remains a challenging
and rewarding activity. Our everyday
life is based on science. Possessing
scientific knowledge and being able to
make intelligent and informed scientific
decisions is becoming an essential
requirement for success.
7
-To show students different scientific
labs and equipment and how this
equipment serves scientific inquiry.
Each class was assigned a project
connected with the research topics of
different labs.”
It is a real fact that fewer students chose
a science career, as Dr. Trendafilova
says, and this is why the ACS Science
department will work even harder to
reveal the beauty and importance of
scientific research to our students. This
is the moment to ask those students who
have not seen their names in this article
to kindly excuse us – your successes are
so many, and the space in the magazine
is limited.
We are happy and proud of ACS
students and all of their achievements.
And we believe there are still many
more successes to come in the future
–students and teachers are working
together to prove us right. As the Science
Department Chair, Mrs. Chakarova says,
“We are aware of the fact that despite the
numerous high results we still need more
excitement and more experimentation in
the classroom. All science teachers are
working as a team in this never-ending
process of giving more and better
science education to ACS students.”
Special thanks to Krasimira Chakarova,
Vanya Angelova and Dimitrina Trendafilova
for contributing to the article with text and
photos.