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4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 7, 1998 Young scientists come clean on good attendance By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Students who wash their hands often, and properly, have a better attendance record than those who don't. That's the ticket two S.A Cawker Public School students will use when they fly to Timmins next month to compete in the Canada-Wide Science Fair. Katie Beirness and Ashley Slack, both 14-year-old Grade 8 students, will make up two-thirds of the Durham contingent making the trek to Northern Ontario; they will be joined by Sinclair Secondary OAC student Andrew Shiner. For their Grade 8 science project, the two Port Perry teens continued their study of hygiene and health with "Your Health is in Your Hands", a two-part look at the relationship between proper hand- washing and good health. During two months of testing, the two aspiring microbiologists found that those students who properly washed their hands were absent fewer days during the months of January and February than those who did not. They came into the classrooms, showed others how to wash, and then recorded results twice a day. During the second part of the project, the pair tested the effectiveness of both regular soap and antiseptic handrub; they say the handrub proved to be the better of the two because of its ability to reduce bacteria. After capturing first place in their Port Perry school's science fair, Katie and Ashley advanced to the Durham Region Science Fair, at R.S. McLaughlin in Oshawa on March 27 and 28. There they picked up a gold medal for first place in the biology category and the Director's Award for the best project in the Junior Division, and were selected to attend the national science fair in Timmins from May 8 to 17. The trio from Durham will be flown to and from the large northern community, where they will stay for eight days at the Durham District School Board's expense. "This is great; we're really excited about the whole thing," said Katie Bierness, adding that the duo had picked up the same regional awards a year ear- lier, but did not compete in the Canadian version because one was not held. "We put a lot of work into this and we're really happy to be going but we weren't expecting it. Around mid- December we started thinking about ideas, and after that we started collecting handwashing samples about three times a week. "During the beginning of January we worked on it for maybe two hours a day, but near the end of February we worked on it every night for the whole night." In an effort to gather as much infor- mation as possible for their project, Katie and Ashley travelled to Central Collegiate in North York where they had the oppor- tunity to chat with a microbiologist. And the girls admit they have plenty to work on before taking their trip next month. "We were told that the judges for the competition like lots of information, so we have some work to do," said Katie. "They want us to know all the bacterial cultures so we're going to have to be spe- cific about what micro-organisms are on the plate. : "The next four weeks are going to be very busy ones." HONOR BAND: Elementary students from all over Scugog have spent the past five weeks prac- ticing for the upcoming Port Perry High School "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choic e'"' po» Tr SRE a T Ea ¥ ; & 2 E SCIENCE ACES: Eight girls from S.A. Cawker Public School had strong showings at the recent Durham Regional Science Fair -- held March 27 and 28 at R.S. McLaughlin School in Oshawa -- including (front, from left) Katie Beirness and Ashley Slack, who will compete at the Canada Wide Science Fair in Timmins next month. Other Cawker students at the regional fair included, from top left, Katie McCoy, Deena Larsen, and Erin Slack. Sitting in the middle row are, from left, Jill MacDonald, Rebecca Cruickshank, and Andria Terry. Arthritis clinics will be held in Port Perry An ongoing partner- ship between the Arthritis Society, Consultation and Rehabilitation Service, and North Durham Health Services has been announced. An Arthritis Clinic will be held at the hospital in Port Perry, the last Tuesday of every month. An Occupational Therapist from the Arthritic Society (Ellen Brawn) will work with the physiotherapists from the hospital to assess and treat people with arthri- tis. Services will include: aeducation about joint protection, energy conser- vation and pain manage- ment athe provision of assis- tive devices, sphnts and foot orthotics The cost of the chinic 1s covered by OHIP. Chents must pay for splints and assistive devices. Who should call? Anyone with arthritis who 1s having trouble with pain, stiffness, walking or chmbing stairs, taking a bath or shower, dressing, lack of energy, or dealing with family or work. You can refer yourself or ask your health profes- sional to refer you. For more information, call (905) 985-7321. ext. 278. CHRIS HALL/PORT PERRY STAR Family of Schools Concert, which will be held April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Here, 13-year-old Michelle St. Amour practices on her flute before the show. Diabetes support group to meet The North Durham Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday (April 9) at 7 p.m., upstairs in the board room at the hospi- tal in Port Perry. Topic of the evening will be preparation for May's pot luck supper; everyone is welcome to bring their favorite recipe. Call 985-8197 for more information.