Budding scientists from Yale Secondary School took the top trophy at the UCFV Chemistry  Laboratory Skills contest for the fourth consecutive year recently. The winning team consisted of Manreet Gill, Amy MacKenzie, Jeraldine Chan, and Shahona Nathwani.  Chilliwack Senior Secondary School sent the runner-up team, composed of Alanna Stewart, Kyle Nadalin, Linh Trieu, and Charlene Dyck. The team representing W. J. Mouat Secondary School , consisting of Jesse Jansen, Tara Rother, Ryan Chapman, and Sanjay Singh, was third.  

High schools in the UCFV catchment area were invited to enter teams of four students in the seventh annual contest, held on Saturday, October 19 as part of National Chemistry Week.  Competing students each completed three experiments: the determination of the concentration of phosphoric acid in cola beverages, the synthesis of iodoform, and the qualitative analysis of six chemicals found in or around the home. Twelve teams, representing nine different high schools, accepted the invitation. The schools represented were Abbotsford Senior Secondary (two teams), Chilliwack Senior Secondary, Heritage Park Secondary, the Mennonite Educational Institute, Mission Secondary, W. J. Mouat Secondary (two teams), Rick Hansen Secondary, Sardis Secondary, and Yale Secondary (two teams).

 Lunch was provided for all the participating students, and the day concluded with a Chemistry Magic Show presented by UCFV staff and students.

Reports from participating students ranged from, “it’s really fun,” and “I’ve never done anything like this,” to “it’s not as hard as I expected,” and “I’m having a blast!”  

Donors of prizes for participating students included Abbotsford Printing, Giggle Ridge, Castle Fun Park, Milestones, Winsome White, Roger’s Video, Towne Cinema Centre, Save-on Foods, Boston Pizza, Panago Pizza, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Dollar Superstore (Murrayville), the UCFV Bookstore, the UCFV Student Union, Fisher Scientific, and VWR Scientific. Financial support was received from the Canadian Society for Chemistry (Vancouver Section); the UCFV Faculty & Staff Association; UCFV Student and Employee Services; and the UCFV Faculty of Science, Health, and Human Services.