Orange, CA – March 29, 2017 – Orange Unified School District is proud to announce that McPherson Magnet School had several students advance from the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF) competition, held Wednesday, to the California State Science Fair (CSSF).

Led by Shannon Duncan and 2016 OCSEF Teacher of the Year Kayee Conrad, four McPherson students placed at the county competition: William Bennett, first place, Earth Science/Physical Environment; Christina Miles and Haley Spranger, second place, Behavioral Sciences; Laurel Manion, second place, Physical Product Science.

McPherson students also received cash prizes for their projects: Jack Conrad, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, $50; Claire Cohen, ASWB Engineering, $50 and Raytheon, $75; Jack Conrad and Griffin Dwyer, $75, Office of Naval Research.

The public is invited to see each winning project on display at McPherson Magnet School’s STEAM Night, scheduled for March 30 from 5:30-8:30PM. Students moving forward to the state competition will also present their projects at the California Science Center in Exposition Park on April 24-25.

Projects were initially displayed at McPherson’s annual science fair competition, which focuses on communication skills - each student’s ability to convey project ideas and discoveries. They were then judged by community members who are actively engaged in science and work for companies such as NASA, Broadcom, Beckman, Disney, and Chapman University, before moving on to the County competition.

McPherson Magnet School opened in September 1997 as the only science, mathematics, and technology K-8 magnet school in Orange Unified School District. Their school vision is to integrate all aspects of learning and education by using a thematic teaching approach that focuses on science, mathematics, and technology. McPherson is committed to providing a variety of experiences that allows the learners to discover their areas of greatest intellectual development.