Students in the Socorro Independent School District teamed up to showcase their best weather experiments and research at the KTSM 2nd annual Weather Fest Oct. 23 at Ascarate Park.
Schools in the district sent teams to the community-based Weather Fest, where they competed in the weather science focused fair that included three other school districts in the region.
“Today, was really just about having fun,” said Paige Bauerly, broadcast and digital marketing consultant for KTSM. “Weather Fest is a competition for students from all of the districts to compete and gain knowledge about the weather or anything weather related and to bring attention to what the students are learning.”
SISD had eight schools participate in this year’s event -- Campestre Elementary School, Cactus Trails Elementary, Escontrias STEAM Academy, El Dorado High School, Pebble Hills High School, Paso Del Norte Fine Arts Academy, SPC. Rafael Hernando III Middle School, and Sun Ridge Middle School.
“The competition was great, I had a good time with all the people on my team and it was fun, which is why we are here,” said Julie Madrid, a fifth-grade student at Cactus Trails Elementary.
Chance Fisher, a sixth-grade student at Sun Ridge Middle School, said he was nervous to participate at first but said his teammates helped him get into a positive mindset.
“My team was really encouraging, and we had a lot of fun doing this,” Fisher said.
KTSM named Campestre Elementary, Sgt. Rafael Hernando III Middle School and El Dorado High School in the best of elementary, middle, and high school categories for SISD.
The Campestre Elementary students worked to determine the best direction to park your car in order to keep it cool during the extreme summers in El Paso.
“I was really proud and honored that we were selected as one of the campuses that got to present because it is very important to understand how science connects with our daily lives,” said Randi Shreve, principal at Campestre Elementary. “Science is everywhere and it’s important for the kids to know that.”
Hernando students presented their studies on the greenhouse effect.
“Today has been a wonderful experience,” Jennifer Peterson, a sixth-grade science teacher at Hernando. “I’ve never been prouder of my kids. It was great to not only see them succeed academically but having fun as kids, which is the best part about it.”
El Dorado students showcased their project on monitoring the monsoon season in the El Paso region.
“Today was a great opportunity to expose my students to atmospheric science and compete among other schools,” Isaac Medina, chemistry teacher at El Dorado High School.
The event was hosted by KTSM meteorologist Monica Cortez, who took time to visit with some of the science teams at their schools before the big day at Weather Fest.
“Thank you to all of you (for participating),” Cortez said. “I hope you enjoyed the event, and we look forward to next year.”
Published November 29, 2022
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