Caningeraba Completes the Hat-trick at Tournament of Minds!
Three teams. Three challenges. Three regional champions!
If there was ever any doubt about the creative firepower at Caningeraba, Sunday 23 August put that to rest! Our school became the battleground for the Gold Coast Regional Tournament of Minds competition, with teams arriving ready to think, create, perform and problem-solve their way to victory. After weeks of preparation, teamwork and plenty of practice, they were ready to put their ideas to the ultimate test.
And what a result…
ALL THREE CANINGERABA TEAMS WON THEIR DISCIPLINES!
That's right! Our STEMinators, Artastics and So Scientrific teams all took out first place in their respective challenges and have earned themselves a ticket to the Queensland State Finals at QUT in Brisbane in just three weeks!
STEMinators – Small Scale, Big Screen challenge!
Sonny, Levi, Walker, Zac, Zachary, Louie and Tom took on the STEM challenge of creating their own science-fiction movie pitch. Their mission involved much more than coming up with a great story, they had to incorporate scale, engineering elements, making a miniature model with movable mechanisms and videography and editing skills to bring their movie concept to life.
Their movie? The Jurassic Wars! A hilarious and imaginative mash-up of Jurassic Park and Star Wars, complete with spectacular special effects and an infectious sense of humour. With dinosaurs, space, engineering and comedy all rolled into one, the STEMinators certainly knew how to put on a show and the judges clearly thought their production was out of this world!
You can see their Robodinosaur named Chatosaur proudly on display in the library along with the new trophies.
Artastics – More than Meets the Eye Challenge!
Nova, Elsie, Hannah, Stella, Angelina, Mabel and Mia were given the challenge of combining the visual artwork of legendary artist M.C. Escher with a non-visual artist of their choice.
The Artastics took this concept somewhere wonderfully unexpected. They chose not only one but six artists and not only one Escher artwork but four. Their storyline saw the artists becoming sucked into a gameshow hidden within the artwork! To escape, the artists had to demonstrate their talents. The team explored the importance of perspective perfectly complementing Escher's famous mind-bending approach to space and perception. Ultimately, Katy Perry was crowned the winner and helped all the artists escape the optical illusion.
It was imaginative, theatrical and entertaining, proving that when you give these students a creative challenge, they are more than happy to think outside the… artwork!
So Scientrific – Behind the Seams challenge
Jazmin, Lilian, Hanna, Thea, Imogen, Neve and Freda tackled a Social Science challenge that required them to design a T-shirt fundraiser while considering environmental, ethical and financial factors.
Their task was anything but simple. They needed to develop budgets, research companies whose practices aligned with their beliefs, consider the environmental impact of their products and ultimately create a fundraiser supporting a worthy cause.
Their cause was captured in the acronym SDC – Saving Disadvantaged Children.
But after watching them tackle this challenge, perhaps SDC could also stand for Super-Dedicated Creators! Because that is exactly what they were; they were thoughtful, clever and committed to creating a solution that made a difference.
Tournament of Minds is about far more than getting the right answer. It challenges students to think creatively, communicate effectively, solve complex problems, work as a team and perform under pressure. Our students rose brilliantly to that challenge. To have all three teams crowned Gold Coast Regional Champions is an incredible achievement and we couldn't be prouder of every student involved.
An event of this size doesn't happen without an enormous team effort. A very special thank you goes to Mrs Hurford, Mr Jenkins, Mrs Quilter, Mrs Kinder, Ms Burke and Mrs Naughton for supporting our teams throughout their preparation and helping our students get ready for the challenge. Thank you also to Mrs Flynn and Mrs Christy for giving up their time to judge, and to our wonderful student volunteers, who helped out during the day. A huge thank you to our P&C for organising the sausage sizzle and keeping everyone fuelled throughout the day!
And finally, thank you to our Tournament of Minds families and parents for supporting the students every step of the way, to our teachers for being flexible around practices and to Caningeraba State School for continuing to support opportunities that allow our students to challenge themselves, think differently and discover just how capable they can be.
But the adventure isn't over yet…
STATE FINALS, HERE WE COME!
In just three short weeks, our STEMinators, Artastics and So Scientrific teams will travel to QUT in Brisbane to compete against the best teams from across Queensland at the Tournament of Minds State Finals.
Could it be another hat-trick…
Three teams. Three Challenges. Three State Champions?
Time will tell…stay tuned!