Rocky Point Middle School sixth Grade GATES students participated in the Brookhaven National Laboratory Science Symposium recently.

The work the students did throughout the school year was showcased along with science projects and research from high school students across Long Island who work with scientists and educators at BNL. 

The GATES program is a collaboration between Rocky Point Middle School and BNL which offers place-based science programming for Gifted and Talented sixth grade students. Program participants monitor study plots in the Rocky Point Pines Barren, collect environmental data, sequence the DNA of beetles and spiders to identify collected species, and learn about the overall health of the Pine Barrens ecosystem. Students participate in 15 sessions throughout the school year as they learn to utilize new scientific equipment at the plots and in the classroom.

Students who participated in the program are Gavin Damiano, Andrew DeTurris, Henry Fiore, Krista Fiorio, Giovanni Guzman, Corrine Gabriel, Kaoru Hatta, Kira Izzo, Iaroslav Lev, Mya Metzler, Brionna Nace, Kate O’Brien, Hailey Ragan, Stephanie Recinos-Suchite, Jackson Ricci, Kian Rooney, Antonia Sakalis, Hadley Schaentzler, Abby Villafane-Kaplan, Mairead Vu and Mackenzie Wehrhan. 

Rocky Point Middle School has been a part of this initiative for almost two decades with science teacher Mrs. Audra Mammina serving as the teacher mentor since its inception.