![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
There exists a special kind of water that cannot be found in grocery stores, malls, or water fountains anywhere in America – one with a taste that cannot be quickly forgotten. That is right: microorganism-filled, mucky pond water. Delicious.
WEGO’s environmental science classes visited Blackwell Forest Preserve on Nov. 7 to learn about how mussels and other microorganisms impact their local environment. The students were able to participate in water testing activities throughout the course of the full-day field trip.
After stepping off the bus, students are greeted by this entry sign to the facility. The aquaculture facility is just over a decade old, and includes a complete workshop for research. Its mission is to “keep common mussel species common in an urban stream system.”
The laboratory invites students in with an overview of the microorganisms currently being studied by scientists on site. The five displayed are types of mussels, ranging from the creeper to the plain pocketbook, all which help stabilize their ecosystem.
The crystal clear water allows researchers the chance to fully observe the animals under bright lights of the facility, which has been specially outfitted for analysis.
This modified basket allows the team to gather readings of several contaminants’ presence in the water. Behind the contraption is an illustration outlining the importance of the mussel, and why water quality impacts their habitat so considerably.
The students are separated into groups to test the quality of water from ponds within the forest preserve. Senior Ryan Blackburn carries the supplies for his group.
Senior Owen Thompson grabs a sample of water to be tested.
“We test the water for a few things – its pH level, temperature, its oxygen level, nitrate & phosphate content, the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water, and fecal coliform bacteria. Each process was a little bit different, but each process involved measuring out stream water into test tubes or containers, and using each tool respectively to get our readings,” Thompson said.
A Vernier sensor takes the temperature of water collected out of the pond. Water temperature is just one of several factors that must be taken into account when analyzing the habitat.
“The nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, and fecal coliform bacteria tests all used pills that dissolved in the stream water to give us our information, while temperature and oxygen level utilized metal instruments submerged in the stream water to give us our information,” Thompson said.
A close look at microorganisms, in this case, mussels, present in the pond.
Blackburn pretends as if he is about to take a sip of the mussel-filled pond water. While the students enjoyed the field trip, they also learned valuable lessons.
“A takeaway from this experience is the importance of keeping our rivers and lakes safe. I had a great time learning about what kinds of bacteria grow into our lakes and rivers, while finding out methods of monitoring the qualities of water,” Blackburn said.
This story was originally published on Wildcat Chronicle on November 25, 2023.