Fisher-Mitchell fifth graders showcase science fair projects in Bath

Fifth graders at Fisher-Mitchell School put their experiments on display April 17, turning the Bath elementary school’s science fair into a public showcase of the hands-on learning RSU 1 says it wants students to practice. Families, friends and classroom visitors filled the school at 597 High Street to watch students explain what they had learned.

The fair carried particular weight at a school that serves grades 3 through 5 and enrolls about 190 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 10 to 1. That smaller setting gave teachers room to guide students through the work behind the display boards, from shaping a question to testing an idea, collecting results and explaining the outcome in their own words.

For a district that serves Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg and Woolwich, the science fair offered more than a look at one classroom project. It showed how Fisher-Mitchell tries to make science visible to families who want to see what learning looks like in practice, not just in a newsletter or on a report card. The event also gave fifth graders a chance to stand in front of a live audience and defend their work, a confidence-building step that can matter as much as the experiment itself.

Kimberly Burgess signed the April 17 message about the fair, which described the school community as celebrating the students’ curiosity, creativity and dedication. That same spring update also laid out the next dates on the school calendar: no school April 20-24, a board meeting public forum April 27 at 6 p.m., and an art show May 12 at 4:30 p.m.

Taken together, the science fair and the rest of the spring schedule showed a school year built around public moments when student work is put on display. At Fisher-Mitchell, the lesson was not only scientific method, but the ability to explain a process clearly, take pride in the result and show local families what their school is teaching children to do.