11 | Thursday, April 11, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Event Special Oakville Christian School students, (back l-r) Emily Berry, Sawyer Ferreira, Danielle Grebe, Nayiri Houldsworth, Georgia Walker, Sandra Vijayan, Maria Ghobrial, (front l-r) Nathan Agnew, Blake Correia, Alexander Greyvanstein, Eduard Brenninkmeijer, Chris Zagotsis, and Liam Ferguson took part in this year's Bay Area Science and Engineering Far and brought home 14 awards. | photo by Nikki Wesley Oakville Beaver (@halton_photog) Christian School aces BASEF Receiving the invitations to the national event were Katelyn Kettle and the team of Eduard Brenninkmeijer and Blake Correia. The duo tested different types of water for total dissolved solids (TDS), which is anything in water that is not water, to figure out which is the purest. They used a TDS metre for testing. Their testing kit tested for chlorine, nitrates and nitrites, pH levels, total alkalinity, total hardness and TDS. They tested several bottled water brands, as well as fountain water at school, tap water, Britta filtered water and distilled water. "Pure water is a big issue right now. A lot of people don't know how pure their water is," Correia said of why they chose the topic. Now, they're taking their results to Lethbridge, Alberta in May where their project will go up against hundreds of others from across the country. "It's nerve-racking a bit," Brenninkmeijer said. "We're really excited," Correia added. "It's lots of fun because we go for a week." At the BASEF competition, the pair earned a Gold Medal, a Primary Fluid Systems Junior Physical Sciences Award, and the Susan Joyce Memorial Award. Hello Oakville, Come visit the Cogeco Booth at the Oakville Lifestyle Home Show. Because we're all about being helpful, we'll have an exclusive offer for visitors who sign up at the show. Dates: Fri., Apr 12, 1-9 Sat., Apr 13, 11-5 Sun., Apr 14, 11-5 Location: Glen Abbey Recreation Centre, 1415 Third Line by Dominik Kurek Oakville Beaver Staff The Oakville Christian School is on a roll at the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF). A year ago, Grade 7 homeroom and Grades 6-8 science teacher Beth Heska received the Champion Teacher recognition award, for helping her students prepare their science fair projects at a high level, leading many students to place high at the local event and later at the national competition. This year, her students did not disappoint. The 12 projects the school sent, picked up 14 awards. Two of those projects were given invites to the Canada-Wide Science Fair. "This is very exciting. In terms of the number of awards, this is the best showing we've had in the five years that I've been here," Heska said. "They've just been working hard on the projects because they've seen the level of projects that have happened before." Heska said the school has had students go on to the Canada-Wide Science Fair nearly every year. But she has noticed an improvement in the level of quality of the school's projects overall as well. see Top on p.17 Get Involved! Volunteer Board Member The YMCA of Oakville is seeking applicants for one upcoming opening on the Board of Directors. We are especially interested in applicants from diverse backgrounds with expertise in any of the following areas: finance, fundraising, facility development, youth engagement and education. If you are interested in serving your community through the YMCA, consider getting involved as a YMCA board member. The YMCA of Oakville values the diversity of people and communities and is committed to excellence and inclusion in our Association. Visit www.ymcaofoakville.com for more information. Closing date: April 30, 2013. YMCA of Oakville 410 Rebecca Street, Oakville T: 905 845-3417 E: info@oakville.ymca.ca ymcaofoakville.com Shop at our store in Oakville Place. 1-800-267-9000 / Cogeco.ca