Inquisitive students
inspired by contest
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

Freehold Intermediate School pupils Liz Sawicz (l) and Mackenzie Roche work on a science project about animal abuse. Each youngster won a $3,000 savings bond in a contest sponsored by the U.S. Army. Frank Bohn, another member of the winning team, is not pictured.

FREEHOLD — Six students in Lois Pflomm’s sixth-grade science class at the Freehold Intermediate School have been awarded a total of $15,000 for their prize-winning entries in a contest sponsored by the U.S. Army. The winners were recognized at a recent Board of Education meeting when they presented their projects.

Frank Bohn, Mackenzie Roche and Liz Sawicz placed first in the Northeast region for their project dealing with animal abuse. Each student was awarded a $3,000 U.S. savings bond and a framed certificate. They will also receive a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete with students from other parts of the country for a top prize of $5,000. According to Pflomm, even if her students do not win the competition, they will still bring home $3,500 each.

The theory behind the youngsters’ project was that if people knew more about how to care for animals there would be less animals suffering at the hands of those who might hurt them.

As part of their research, the team members tested fourth-graders on their knowledge of animal care and then offered the children an informative brochure they had created on the subject of animal abuse. After studying the information in the brochure, the fourth-graders were retested. The test results showed an increase in knowledge of 2.8 percent.

The team members concluded that making people more aware of the incidence of animal abuse was the key in helping to prevent it from occurring. In addition, the team members met with police officers and distributed their brochure at a local veterinary office.

The brochure included a definition of what the team members said is the cause of animal abuse: "People abuse animals because they feel powerful when they harm an animal that is defenseless."

Pflomm said the students are looking forward to their visit in Washington from June 26 to July 2. The group will present its project to a team of judges who will determine the national winners.

Another team of students won the regional criteria award in the Benefit to the Community category. Samantha Max-well, Alexandra Puntolillo and Andrew Caferra each received a $2,000 savings bond and a framed certificate. The idea of their project was to help clean up litter in town.

"We noticed cigarette butts, grocery store plastic bags and other debris scattered around sidewalks, streets and parking lots," Andrew explained.

Andrew noted that the litter collects by curbs and when it rains the litter flows into the storm sewers and may contribute to water pollution as it runs out to the ocean. It may also harm sea life and eventually hurt people because, he said, people often eat the sea life.

The team members said they want the Earth to stay clean and fresh. Their research included using the Internet, the library and interviewing people.

Andrew said the team members concluded that "if more people were aware of this problem, they would care and think before they litter."

Team members passed out surveys in other classes to see how much students already knew about littering. Then they explained the problem of littering to the other children and handed out brochures they had prepared. The survey was redone and the results showed that students learned an average of 19.57 percent more than what they already knew.

The Army contest, eCybermission, is a Web-based science, math and technology competition. It encourages and rewards a diverse range of proficiency levels, interests and backgrounds. The program also promotes self-discovery for all students and allows them to recognize the real-life applications of these disciplines, according to information provided by Pflomm.

After conducting their research and tests, the teams submitted their mission folder, the official write-up of their project, via the Internet to "Mission Control."

Superintendent of Schools Philip J. Meara said, "We are very fortunate to have teachers of this quality who can inspire a higher level of thinking skills in their students and guide them through the practical application of these skills through community service projects."