Well, the science fair is almost upon us. I was a little nervous hearing some of the questions and seeing some of the work (or lack thereof) in past weeks. I mean, it's my first time organizing a science fair, and I'm the sole person responsible. It's a bit of extra pressure. I got the judges all lined up: some retired teachers (including mes parents), former staff of the school, a school parent, the province's elementary science curriculum consultant, and a friend of mine from Uni. who went through science and education at the same time as me (though now she's some sort of executive director for agriculture and education or something). A bit of pressure here, too, right? Family, former staff, a friend, an education official... I want them all to think the kids did a good job. What if the kids all under-achieved and people left questioning my abilities and what the heck I was doing at school? Oyvay.

Well, I got through all but five of the projects in the last two days. We did some trial runs in-class, to iron kinks out, get suggestions, etc. I've gotta say that I was pretty impressed. Of course, there's a range of quality within the group. There were a couple of surprises on both ends of the spectrum. Overall, though, it was better than I'd thought. The projects, on the whole, look really great. Some students have great presentations all set to go. Some students have really shown the scientific method, and shown some great scientific thought. Their homeroom teachers were all wowed by them as well, and often comment on how impressed they are with them. Our counsellor said he saw some projects at a larger city school (with some older grades, too), and they looked like shmutz (or something like that) compared to our kids'. YES!! I loved the compliments from the teachers, but hearing that kind of comparison was just like, "Booya! In your face city school with more resources!" The fair's on Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes and post some links to fair pics.