St. John Neumann Regional School students Felicia James and Caitlene Santos took home first place in the annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Scienceat Penn State, University Park held in May.

James' project focused on chemistry and was titled "Corrosion of Iron in Steel Nails." Santos' project was in microbiology and titled "Resistance of E.coli to Disinfectants."Before reaching the state competition, eighth-graders James and Santos competed at the PJAS regional level hosted in February at the Easton High School, winning first-place awards, leading the pair to be qualified for state level.Fellow classmates eighth-grader Lydia Gowin and seventh-grader Timothy Hillanbrand competed in the regional competition, taking second place.The students spent months completing the projects under the supervision and guidance of teacher and sponsor Mrs. Fran Lenahan.In addition to the science competition, the students competed at the Allentown Diocese's Academic Bowl Competition held in April at Allentown Central Catholic High School. The team consists of six members: Braden Bates, Olivia Ericson, Lydia Gowin, Timothy Hillanbrand, Felicia James and Caitlene Santos, team captain. The Academic Bowl Team reached the quarterfinals for the 2016 year.