BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2021 And Scifest 2021
LeahFitzpatrick and Maegan McGourty who took part in this year’s virtual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition with their project, “The Impact of Covid-19 on the Lives of People in Our School Community.”
Maegan McGourty and Leah Fitzpatrick qualified for this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition with their project, “The Impact of Covid-19 on the Lives of People in Our School Community.” They also qualified for Scifest 2021. The girls were mentored for both projects by Ms Yvonne Hanbury.
They chose a subject that is relevant to with what is happening in the world today.
The aim of their study was to ascertain how Covid-19 and lockdown had affected the lives of people in our school community. In particular they wanted to ascertain how it affected the mental health and well-being of those in our school community. This was an issue they both felt very strongly about. They wanted to emphasize that “it’s ok not to be ok” and that it is important to express our emotions to others.
They were concerned that the mental health and well-being of our school community, was being challenged. They investigated how social isolation, online learning, and the stress of being in a global pandemic had taken its toll on young people.
They also investigated people’s opinions on the Coronavirus, their level of fear around the virus, if they felt safe in school and what more they think could be done to control the spread of Covid-19 within the school community. Another aim of this project was to debunk the idea that “school students don’t care about the virus and it’s their faults that we cannot control its spread,” as many people might assume.
The results of their investigation have shown that both staff and students were greatly impacted by the onset of Covid-19. Their surveys have shown that it took a lot for people to adapt to the new way of life and it had greatly impacted their well-being. They found out that lockdown had really taken a toll, especially on students’ mental health. Everyone’s lives have been changed and affected in many ways.
They devised some recommendations about what could be done for people in our school community including more mental health and well-being supports in the form of workshops and classes. Students need to be educated consistently on the spread and prevention of the Coronavirus. Lastly they recommend that we need to continue to work well together as we have been doing, thus far, to control the spread of Covid-19.
Their results have shown that many people are fearful and anxious for themselves, friends and family members. The girls say that if our school community and the wider community continues to follow the recommended Coronavirus guidelines, we can allow our community to come together again in a safe and protected manner.
Stay Safe, Wear Your Mask, Sanitise, Social Distance!
The students also competed in this year’s Scifest Competition for which they recently received “Certificates of Outstanding Achievement.”
Megan McGourty and Leah Fitzpatrick pictured with their teacher Ms Hanbury receiving their Scifest “Certificates of Outstanding Achievement.”
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