Richard Froese
South Peace News
A High Prairie junior high school Grade 8 student has qualified for the national science fair in Edmonton in mid-May.
Prairie River Junior High School student Faith Bruneau-Lepine has advanced to the Canada-Wide Science Fair May 14-19 at the Edmonton Convention Centre.
Her project, Saving the Bees, placed first in the junior division for Grades 7 and 8 at the Peace Regional Science Fair held March 23 in Peace River.
She says her reaction to winning is priceless when she heard her name called at the awards ceremony.
“I was shocked; I won gold; I was very excited to go up,” Bruneau-Lepine says.
“My walk was a bit stiff, but I was jumping.”
She was also encouraged after hearing lots of positive and enthusiastic comments from the judges.
Her project compared the efficacy of several medicines and acids to treat honeybee beehives for mites.
Bruneau-Lepine’s study aimed to determine which treatment was most effective in order to improve results for future generations of beekeepers.
She discovered the way her family traditionally treated their hives was not the most effective and they have since changed their treatment practice.
Bruneau-Lepine is part of the Kemp family that has been in the honey business in the Triangle area west of High Prairie for more than 100 years.
She is the stepdaughter of Tyson Kemp, the daughter of Laura Kemp, the granddaughter of Roger and Nina Kemp and the great-granddaughter of Albin and Lorna Kemp.
Bruneau-Kemp was the only Prairie River student who responded to participate in the regional science fair, since the school held its annual science fair after the regional event.
“When I was in Grade 4, my older brother Kevin did it and I wanted to do the same,” Bruneau- Lepine says.
She appreciates the support from her parents.
“I am extremely grateful for my dad,” Bruneau-Lepine says.
“He has devoted his time and effort into helping me with my project.
“I’m also grateful for my mom because she helped me keep my motivation up.”
Now the student looks forward to the national event.
“I am quite excited to meet new people and learning with top young scientists,” Bruneau- Lepine says.
“I know the expectations are extremely high.”
She also looks forward to visit the Telus World of Science.
Prairie River science teacher Keith Davidson says Bruneau-Lepine worked hard on the project and deserves to compete at the Canada-wide event.
“Faith going to the national finals is a great opportunity for her; I’m very excited for her,” Davidson says.
He says Bruneau- Lepine has the ability to go far in the national competition.
“She will compete with our country’s finest young scientific minds and probably be exposed to some great innovative ideas,” Davidson says.
“If she advances in the finals, there is lot of potential for scholarship and bursary opportunities.”
Prairie River students were given two options to participate in one science fair – either the more traditional Canada-Wide Science Fair program or the school science fair, which is based on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program, he says.
“Faith has been working on her science project for some time and was keen to join the CWSF progam,” Davidson says.
“She still went through the regular processes as in previous years and was more than competent to compete in regionals with her project.”
The Canada-Wide Science Fair is the annual national championships of the National Science Fair Program – a competition hosting the national finalists selected by nearly 100 Youth Science Foundation Canada (YSFC)-affiliated regional science fairs across Canada.
It is the country’s largest annual STEM event and brings together the top high school science students and their projects.
Each year, about 25,000 science students from Grades 7-12 participate in nearly 100 regions to showcase their research and design achievements.