da Vinci Decathlon
Year 5 and 6
Year 7 & 8
The Tributes:
Training was… somewhat hectic. Although once we had sorted out our certain strengths and weaknesses in working together, (it only took about half of lunch) we were considerably productive. Almost.
But, although we definitely had our disagreements, we were a powerful team. And after a lifetimes-worth of lunchtime-trainings, we were prepped and ready for the arena.
The Arena:
Period 1: Code Breaking – Annabel & Cassius, English – Elena & Greta, Science – Charlie & Quinn, Ideation – Luca and Ollie [Creative Producers – Charlie, Ollie & Luca]
Our method in the Arena was to divide and conquer: each subject would get 2 people assigned (except for Creative Producers) and they would work though the paper together. Creative Producers were different, because the two or three doing that paper would leave the arena (via hovercraft, of course) during one of the sessions, and prepare a skit in 8 minutes to perform to the judges in one.
Period 2: Maths – Annabel & Cassius, Cartography – Charlie & Quinn, Engineering – Ollie & Luca, Art & Poetry – Elena & Greta
In the second Period we mainly followed the same course at the start, but when Art & Poetry and Engineering had to get handed in, we had 4 people on each paper which helped us get through it easily.
Period 3: Legacy.
Legacy has its own Period, meaning everyone must work together to complete it. This would’ve been a disaster if we didn’t divide the papers between existing pairs. Legacy focused on the Renaissance period, as it’s meant to be the reason Da Vinci Decathlon is named after Da Vinci, a prominent
The Victor:
Our team did not go as badly as we had perceived: 2nd in English and Art & Poetry!
Our tips and tricks:
I’d like to say we managed our time effectively, but sometimes, we could get stuck on one or two questions for a while. One of my tips would be that if you are stuck on one question, don’t dwell on it for more than 2-4 minutes.
Greta S & Charlie H (Year 7)
Year 9 & 10
On Friday 2 May, a team of 8 people awoke ready for competition. Yes, it may have been a bit too early for our liking, but we overcame that, like how we overcame the hours that came to follow. When we entered the room where we would be spending most of the day, there was one thing that stuck out to us: the number of people. There were students from all over the Illawarra region, from various schools, all competing to win.
Session one began with: English, Ideation, Science and Codebreaking.
Previously, in training for the event, we had decided to divide and conquer. We split the papers up and all contributed to various parts of each, which is exactly what we did, though it got a bit hectic. We were given all papers at the same time, but it turned out that the Ideation paper and English paper had more questions and sections to complete than the other papers, which required more people to work on them. After the first session ended, we were given some time to cool off and have recess.
The next session included the papers: Mathematics, Cartography, Creative Producers, Art & Poetry and Engineering.
This session was a bit more difficult to manage, as we had more papers to complete, and we had a shorter time limit for engineering and art and poetry. We jumped right in with those two, brainstorming ideas and getting to work. About 30 minutes in, two team members left the group to do Creative Producers (acting). Amelie and Ed went off and had 8 minutes to plan a 1-minute scene in the style of an influencer to promote a product or event that reduces the use of single-use plastics. Meanwhile, Souhaylah, Tilly, Honour, Coen, Milo and Grace were hard at work on the remaining papers. Soon we had to hand in the Art & Poetry and Engineering papers, leaving us to finish off the rest before lunch.
The last session was the Legacy paper.
It was not our best paper, but we tried the best we could. We all grouped together and worked as a team to put names to famous landmarks and people around the world. This last session was shorter than the others, but after handing the Legacy paper in, we did some fun trivia while it was marked by the teachers. At one point, there was a dance off, and about five people got up on stage to dance to a silly song for twenty seconds. Everyone in the hall had a whole lot of fun mucking around while we waited for the results. We even received a few notes from other schools at their tables, and overall, it was a very enjoyable experience.
The results were announced, and our team came first in Codebreaking. I think some of our eardrums are still damaged from how loud we cheered! It was an amazing day, and even if you don’t consider yourself an academic person, we would all recommend the da Vinci Decathlon for anyone who wants to try it next year. Just the experience of being in a room with that many people was awesome, and the atmosphere was so lighthearted and casual, it was a wonderful way to spend the day.
Souhaylah S (Year 10) & Amelie L (Year 9)
