40 JUNE 2020 By Rachael Bouley After months of careful scientific research and preparation, Veritas students were able to display their results at the annual science fair at the end of April. Instead of having students present their projects at school in front of their peers and parents, they recorded their presentations and had their videos posted online for the Veritas community to explore. Veritas Middle School Assistant Headmaster Thomas Thoits didn’t want the sixth-grade class to miss out on the science fair, which is why he and his fellow educators put together the virtual experience. “We miss our students so much, and there is no way to re-create the in- person science fair, but we wanted to honor the good work of our students working with their teachers and parents over the past year,” Thoits said. The group realized that a virtual science fair was the perfect way for the Veritas community to come together. “There were a lot of technical hurdles for families in producing and submitting videos and for us in assembling and setting up the site,” Thoits said. “We all got a crash course speaking about ways they succeeded as well as things they learned from these experiments,” Thoits said. Kalyani Bhatnagar was one of the students who participated in the science fair. She showcased a project on aromatherapy and smell preferences for people of different ages. She says she chose her project topic because nearly half of Americans say they feel stressed during the day, and while aromatherapy may help, it’s frequently pretty expensive. “I was looking for affordable ways that people can de-stress,” Kalyani said. After working on her project since the fall and gathering data from 30 participants, Kalyani was excited to present her findings, including that mint was the most popular out of five distinct scents. She said that getting to see the work of other students and study their projects was great too. “It was an amazing experience to see all the other projects,” Kalyani said. By Jennifer Marshall In March, Veritas Prep’s two mock trial teams placed 3rd and 7th at the Maricopa County Regional Tournament, held at the Maricopa County Superior Court Building. This extracurricular activity was established in the 1980s and is open to high school students around the state. Mock trial programs are co-sponsored by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education and the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar, with 120-150 Arizona schools participating each year. “Every mock trial team gets the same case,” said Veritas Coach Bill Gates, “which is a lawsuit created and written by lawyers. Just like a real legal case, this one includes a fact pattern, witness statements and exhibits.” This year’s case was a murder trial involving two men who owned a restaurant. One owner was a gambler accused of embezzling money from the business to repay his loan shark. Following an audit, his partner was charged with pushing him into the restaurant’s industrial freezer, where he died. The defense argued that the loan shark committed the murder. “The case can be either criminal or civil, and many times, they’ve taken on hot-button issues like hate crimes,” said Gates, who is also an in-house lawyer for PING Golf. Each mock trial team is composed of six to eight students who serve as both lawyers and witnesses. Since the teams don’t know until the day of competition which side they will be arguing, they prepare to play both prosecution and defense by practicing three days a week for two hours at a time. “The entire process is a great opportunity for the participants to hone vital skills like critical thinking, research and public speaking,” Gates said. “Quite often, the real judges who preside over the trials comment that the student presentations are as good, if not better than some of the lawyers who appear in front of them.” “I felt privileged to be part of the Veritas Mock Trial team, due to the exceptional, dedicated and experienced coaches who have expanded my interests in law and public speaking,” said freshman Sabra Ahmed, who was named to the All Region Team. “This experience improved my critical thinking skills and pushed me to think more creatively. With every practice, we grew stronger as a team, and the goal we set out to achieve aligned us even further.” Veritas’s third-place team qualified for the state tournament, which was unfortunately canceled. “This was the third year in a row that Veritas qualified for the state tournament,” Gates said, “and since only 16 teams make it to that level, that’s a great accomplishment for our students.” “The cancelation of the state tournament ended my last season on the team,” said senior Vivian Tork, who was named outstanding performer at regionals. “It’s strange to think my closing in the final round at regionals was the last thing I’d ever do in high school mock trial, but I’m satisfied that my team left everything in the courtroom during what would turn out to be my last round ever.” Veritas Prep participates in mock trial competition Back row: Britney Sweiss, Sam Espinosa, Vivian Tork, Corynn Gates, Claire Harris, Jacob Ladner, Hudson Grove, Jake Hirsch and Sabra Ahmed. Front row: Kiera Lentz, Lauren Mukavitz and Anna Schillinger. PHOTO: BILL GATES in video production, but we made it through, and we’re grateful we had this opportunity.” Fifty-seven students par ticipated in the fair, with submissions covering a variety of scientific categories. “It was impressive under these circumstances as families rallied to support students in producing and submitting these presentations,” Thoits said. The science team decided to forego traditional rankings and instead celebrate the students’ hard work. “It is an accomplishment that these students were able to pull together and produce these presentations,” Thoits said. “Teachers reviewed each video presentation and conveyed to families the excellent work they saw.” Thoits was delighted to see an overwhelmingly positive response from parents, students and fellow faculty. “These students have been working throughout the school year to prepare their projects, so this opportunity was welcome,” Thoits said. “Even at a distance, those students who were able to join us virtually got the opportunity to speak up and formally present their ideas to others in the community.” Thoits recognized that students might feel anxious talking in front of a camera, even without an in-person audience. “These students rose to this new kind of challenge and spoke up with poise and confidence, Kalyani Bhatnagar with her presentation. Veritas Prep experiments with virtual science fair PHOTO: ANUJ BHATNAGAR Serving the Arcadia area since 1958 | D O G S | CATS | B I R DS | EXOTI C S | Find us on Facebook! Member Since 1959 MEDI CAL • DENTAL • SU RG ERY • BOARDI NG • G ROOMI NG • O B EDI EN C E TRAI N I NG 4855 E Thomas Rd, Phoenix AZ 85018 www.ingleside.com TRAVELING? Our boarding facility is open! BRIAN A. SERBIN, DVM • LINDSAY BUSH, DVM • KATHERINE HEWITT, DVM SAMANTHA MIELKE, DVM • KARISSA SCIACCA, DVM HOSPITAL 602-840-3446 | GROOMING 602-952-1754 Grooming OPEN Tues - Sat

MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ONLY 75% SOLD OUT An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ONLY 60% SOLD 40th Street & Osborn An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available a community built by 40th Street & Osborn Models Open Daily • 602.819.8475 TheVillasAtBakerPark.com An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available MOVE IN N CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMIT Models Open Daily • 6 TheVillasAtBak An intimate, gated encla of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ONLY 60% SOLD An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ONLY a community built by 40th Street & Osborn Models Open Daily • 602.819.8475 TheVillasAtBakerPark.com An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ONLY 40th Street & Osborn Models Open Daily • 602.819.8475 TheVillasAtBakerPark.com An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ON 40th Street & Osb Models Open Daily • 602.819.8475 TheVillasAtBakerPark.com An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes • Priced from the $900s • 2,300 - 3,900 square feet • 1 & 2 story plans available MOVE IN NOW! CUSTOM OPTIONS - LIMITED TIME ONLY a community built by 40th Street & Osborn Models Open Daily • 602.819.8475 TheVillasAtBakerPark.com An intimate, gated enclave of just 44 semi-custom single-family luxury homes Priced from the $900s 2,300 – 3,900 square feet 1 & 2 story plans available Only a Lucky Few May Still Call Baker Park Home