They are every high school student’s arch nemesis, yet every teacher’s ally in education. They are dreaded by students, yet revered by teachers: Research papers.  However, with the help of Biology and Research teacher, Liane D’Alessandro, students at NCC grow to take pride in their research and become excited about their topics and findings. On January 13, 2010, the sophomores enthusiastically presented their topics and research to the NCC community during the annual Research Fair.

During the sophomore year, the students at North Cambridge Catholic High School take a year long course on how to write a research paper.  During this 2nd quarter, the students worked on writing a research paper about a controversial health issue, these issues include  best way to treat depression, how to beat stress without medicine, are organic foods necessary, does the media cause eating disorders, does sleep matter, is caffeine safe, and can positive thinking cure diseases.  The students began the project by choosing a topic and writing questions that they wanted to learn about in their research.  From that point, they worked on gathering sources to write a proposal, note cards, an outline, and finally their paper.  The last step was to present their research to fellow students, faculty, staff, and parents at the Research Fair.

The students really enjoyed being able to show their work off at the Research Fair. Faculty and staff not only were impressed by the displays, but also even learned a few things about these controversial subjects.  Ms. D’Alessandro stated, "for many students, writing a research paper is quite challenging, but in the end, when they are able to talk with adults about what they know about their topic and feel like experts, all the effort becomes worthwhile."