Newton County School System (NCSS) students brought home the hardware from the recent Griffin RESA Regional Science Fair. 

In fact, every NCSS student participating earned an award in the competition. 

The NCSS students competed against fellow students from Butts, Fayette, Henry, Lamar, Pike, Spalding, and Upson counties. 

One student, Newton County Theme School’s Katheryn Wilber, not only won first place honors but also the prestigious Broadcom Master’s Award — the highest award given to middle school students at the competition. Winners of this award are invited to compete in the Broadcom Masters competition in Washington, D.C.

All first place winners will move on to compete at the 2022 Georgia Science and Engineering Fair in Athens March 21-April 2. The following is a list of all Newton County School System Regional Science Fair winners:

Senior Division (High School) Science Fair Winners (all from Newton College & Career Academy):

LaTayla Billingslea and Riley Poynter, First Place, "Drugging E. Coli: Effects of Vape e-liquids on E.Coli."

Annslee Dunn, First Place, "Using Beneficial Bacteria to Kill Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria."

Brianna Francis and Bailey Smith, Second Place, "CRSIPR Knockout & Restriction Digest in Bacterial Transformation."

Kaegan Hill, Third Place, "Efficacy of Over-the-Counter Products on Bacteria-Induced Atopic Dermatitis." 

Younger Burton and Tatom Curtis, Honorable Mention, "Poisonous PCR: Analysis of the ITS Gene in Local Poisonous Fungal Species."

Dasia Lackey, Honorable Mention, "Cellobiose/SCOBY in Biofuel Production." 

Junior Division (Middle School) Science Fair Winners:

Katheryn Wilber, Newton County Theme School, 1st Place & Broadcom Masters Award, "Which Mask Works Best? (to prevent spread of bacteria)".

Alexander Ehret, Newton County Theme School, First Place, "How do Variables Affect the Performance of a Roller Coaster Car?"

Oliver Reid, Newton County Theme School, First Place, "Evaluating the Effects of a Radar Speed Sign on Driver Speed." 

Brooklynn Gladue and Gabrielle Rangel, Indian Creek Middle School, Second Place, "Effectiveness of Various Pizza Sauces on Pizza Condition."

Sophia Mabie, Newton County Theme School, Second Place, "What is the Most Absorbent Paper Towel?" 

Benjamin Parson, Newton County Theme School, Second Place, "3,2,1 GRO! The Effects of Potting Soil on Plant Growth"

Alex Amerson, Indian Creek Middle School, Third Place, "What is the Optimal Trebuchet Boom Ratio?"

Jayden Colbert and Markell Francis, Clements Middle School, 3rd Place, "Soda & Mentos Experiment".

Zoey Dotson, Newton County Theme School, Third Place, "Which Nail Polish Brand Lasts the Longest?" 

Rahniah Greene, Clements Middle School, Third Place, "Acrylic Nail Removal" 

Caroline Meeler, Indian Creek Middle School, Third Place, "A Spoonful of Sugar: Glucose in Our Food (Part II)"  

Leyton Parker, Newton County Theme School, Third Place, "Which Liquid Evaporates the Fastest?"

Payton Tremblay, Liberty Middle School, Third Place, "Electro Resistance" 

Emilee Beal, Indian Creek Middle School, Honorable Mention, "Measuring Relative Skyglow Using a Digital Camera" 

Katie Bryan, Indian Creek Middle School, Honorable Mention, "The Difficulties of Separating CGI and Photography" 

Meredith Dowdy, Colbie Hamlin, and Madeline Jones, Indian Creek Middle School, Honorable Mention, "Does Smell Affect our Taste?"

Marc Goring Jr., and Devin Smalls, Liberty Middle School, Honorable Mention, "Electrified! Differences in Electrolytes Between Drinks" 

Samantha Paler, Clements Middle School, Honorable Mention, "It's Unbelie-bubble!"

Jonathan Phillips, Liberty Middle School, Honorable Mention, "Fantastic Fabrics (fabrics and fading)"

Tristan Taylor, Indian Creek Middle School, Honorable Mention, "Investigation Plastic Pollution"

NCSS Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey said she was "so impressed but definitely not surprised by how successful our students were at the Regional Science Fair." 

“I know for sure, and have said for years, that Newton County is home to some of the most academically gifted students in the state. Our students continually prove in competitions such as the Regional Science Fair that they can compete with and out-perform the very best students the state of Georgia has to offer. 

"To have every student participating win an award is an amazing accomplishment and speaks volumes not only about our students but also our science teachers and the work they do preparing students to succeed in the subject.”

She added, “I am so proud of each and every one of our students and wish those moving on to the state competition the very best of luck. I know they will represent their schools and our school system well.”