Most science fair projects don't take two years to complete, nor do they end in an awards ceremony with millions of dollars in scholarships, cash and prizes, but for one senior at Salem Hills High School, this is his reality. Jacob Johnson has been working for two years on his science project titled "Motivation and Cognitive Function: examining the effect of motivation on low-stake test scores." His research involved more than 200 student subjects and months of preparation.
Ten years ago, biology class looked like a dead frog splayed across a metal pan, the smell of formaldehyde wafting throughout the room. Now, with classes like Salem Hills High School's biotechnology course, offered as concurrent enrollment through UVU, biology has become so much more than frog dissections. "We are part of a new STEM grant in conjunction with UVU and SLCC to sequence the DNA of a type of bacteria, known as Halorubrum salsolis, that is only found in the Great Salt Lake," said Brad Shuler, Salem's Biotech teacher.
Well it seems things are looking up for Skyhawks tennis. The varsity team was able to pull a win over the #2 Spanish Fork Dons in a region match on Tuesday April 19th but keeping them at their current position of 3rd. Chris Beckett did an amazing job beating his opponent in a tie breaker setting a school record of only one region loss over his varsity tennis career at SHHS. Parker Dunn, in his first year of tennis, competed as a singles player for the Junior Varsity team on Tuesday and was excellent in form. Winning in the final set, he fought hard and made some key points.
