ESFDB names STEM Fair winners

STEM Fair winners at the Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja. First row, from left, Kaitlyn Balgoa, John Anthony Tobongbanua, Michael Jon Cantil, Edward U. Maratita III, and Eianne Ladao. Back row, from left, Edward Maratita, Jr., Forinda Chavez, school principal Carmen H. Atalig, and Mary Rose Lucero. (Contributed Photo)

“Force and Motion.” “Tobacco Usage on Rota.” “Rising Water.” “The Power Of Spices.” “Cleaning Oil Spill.”

These were just a few of the 29 entries at the Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Fair, held on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the school campus.

The fair resulted in the selection of five winners who will represent the school and the Rota community in the upcoming Islandwide STEM Fair on March 11, 2017, on Saipan. They are Eianne M. Ladao (1st Grade), Edward U. Maratita, III (3rd Grade), John Anthony Tobongbanua (4th Grade), Kaitlyn Amber P. Balgoa (6th Grade), and Michael Jon T. Cantil (6th Grade).

Only five students from each school are allowed to participate in the Islandwide STEM Fair.

“We congratulate all the students for their hard work, and look forward to working with them again next year,” said Mary Rose S. Lucero, ESFDB’s 3rd to 5th grade science teacher and organizer of the school’s STEM fair.

This was the fifth year the school organized the STEM fair for its Kindergarten through eighth-grade students, implemented by school administrator and principal Carmen H. Atalig.

“Our school-level STEM Fair is to science what the National Football League Super Bowl is to the New England Patriots,” said Atalig. “Our students are science champions. They are natural young scientists and engineers. This event capitalizes on their innate curiosity to comprehend the universe and honors their efforts to understand it.”

“We must encourage and inspire students to study in the STEM fields and connect them with educational opportunities. Our students are the future inventors, scientists, technicians, engineers, and mathematicians of the Luta community or the CNMI as a whole,” Atalig added.

Lucero praised the judges, parents, and teachers who volunteered their services for the event.

“This is Year 5 and we continue to have amazing and talented students who showcase their projects to these unique judges from our Rota community,” Lucero said. “They are willing to share their inputs to further our student’s knowledge, which does so much to open the world of science, technology, engineering and math.”

These year’s judges are Francisco S. Calvo, Sen. Paul A. Manglona, Rev. Fr. Isidro Ogumoro, Nicolas Songsong, Orly Soria, and Shirley Villanueva. Assisting in the school STEM Fair are science teachers Monette Ladao, Florinda Chavez, and Edward Maratita Jr.(ESFDB)