Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Family Values: Mom and Dad encourage kids to learn science, mathematics

It is not uncommon for Gurdon students to soar academically in the fields of reading, writing and arithmetic; but one family encourages their children to do their best in the field of science and mathematics.

Adrian and Denise Chester are those parents; and their children, third grader Sebastian and sixth grader Malia, won first place for their grades in the 2008 K-6 Gurdon Primary School Science Fair.

Malia has entered the science fair five times  since the fairs first year, and has ranked first place each time. Two of those years she was the only student in her grade to enter a project in the fair. After winning the school fair, Malia has gone on to compete in the regional Dawson Science Fair, where she ranked third place one year.

Sebastian has entered the science fair four times since kindergarten and won first place in Gurdon each time. He has ranked first, second and third place at the Dawson Science Fair in the three years he has made it there.

Adrian and Denise own and operate a janitorial service based in Gurdon that serves areas between Hot Springs and Texarkana. While Adrian does the cleaning, Denise runs the office and works from home. Not only does she stay busy with the family business, but she  along with the rest of the family  also volunteers in a Bible educational ministry in which Jehovahs Witnesses participate.

Adrian and Denise push their children in the areas of science and mathematics to help them better understand the world in which they live.

We appreciate science because it really helps the children to appreciate the creator, Adrian said. It helps them to see His wisdom and how things work.

Not only does it help them better understand the works of the creator, but it also helps in understanding everyday life, he said.

Math and science are both really necessary skills for living, Adrian said. In some way its going to be necessary, whether it be with their skills or Bible ministry work for Jehovahs Witnesses.

But it seems that Malia is not just a science wiz  shes pretty keen on reading, also.

In the fourth grade she received the most points of any fourth grader before her at Gurdon Primary School in the Accelerated Reader program, which is a series of tests that measure reading comprehension based on reading levels. She scored 600 points in the fifth grade, and is now over the 1,000 point mark as a sixth grader.

Shes read just about every book at the library, Adrian said. Reading is a very important skill we have to have in regards to studying the Bible.

Denise says that one reason the children have been so successful in the science fairs is because they have included details in their projects that relate to everyday life.

She said last year Sebastians project dealt with recycling water. He interviewed employees at the water department about the usage of water. His project this year, Lets Eat Nails for Breakfast, compared the amounts of iron in different breakfast cereals.

He did a little extra research, Denise said. Its those little details (that help him in his projects), and its a good pointer for other kids who do the science fair just to see how (their project) relates to the real world.

They encourage their children to make the best use of their education to effectively serve Jehovah God and to carry out Bible ministry, work that Adrian says Jesus wants all of his disciples to do.

Adrian has never attended college, but attained his high school diploma. He is in Theocratic Ministry School that teaches all Jehovahs Witnesses how to speak publicly and how to teach others about the Bible.

Denise, on the other hand, has attained her high school diploma and has had some college education.

Adrian and Denise, who have been married for 14 years, moved from Malvern to Gurdon 10 years ago.

What they like best about Gurdon is its slower pace.

We like that its a smaller town, Adrian said. We appreciate that all the teachers know every student and can give them attention.

Both Maria and Sebastian still have an opportunity to rank in this years Dawson Science Fair, which will be held May 16 at Henderson State University.