Monroe students present science‑fair projects to school board; winners recognized

The Monroe Local Schools Board recognized winners of the district elementary science fair during the meeting. Mr. Ward, serving as student‑achievement presenter for the meeting, introduced winners from fourth, fifth and sixth grades who delivered short presentations of their experiments.

Mr. Ward said the fair expanded this year to include fourth grade and that the projects were voluntary and completed outside of school time. “This is a great opportunity for them to practice their public speaking skills,” he said.

Sixth graders Emma Stout and Addison McGuire presented a soda-and‑Mentos experiment comparing eruption heights for Diet Coke, Coke, Sprite and Fanta; they reported Diet Coke produced the highest fountains across trials and summarized measured heights by trial. Sophia Kirk and Kirsten Talbot asked “Do dogs have a favorite toy?” and described a small repeated-trial experiment using different toy types and colors.

Fifth-graders Logan Hall and Emma Ware tested which clear liquids dissolved Jolly Ranchers fastest (sparkling water, tap water and Sprite); their results showed sparkling water with the shortest average dissolution time in their trials, though individual trial winners varied. Fourth-grader Ronnie Davis presented a plant-propagation experiment comparing rainwater, tap water and vitamin-treated water; Davis reported vitamin-treated rainwater produced the longest and largest-diameter roots in the district’s measures.

Board members praised the students’ presentations and invited parents to photograph winners. No formal board action was required; the segment served as recognition and a public display of student work.