Tournament of Minds

Tournament of Minds (TOM) is a problem-solving program for teams of students from both primary and secondary years. Tournament of Minds aims to enhance the potential of young people by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment. Congratulations to both our Secondary and Primary teams who represented SCEGGS.  Below are their reflections.

Secondary

On Sunday 31 August, 10 teams of girls from Years 7-10 took part in the Secondary Division at Randwick Boys High School. Their presentations showcased six weeks of dedicated teamwork, innovation, and creativity. This year, the Language team explored themes from the works of Shaun Tan. The Social Sciences teams pitched ideas for a recreational facility to a community forum. The STEM teams developed a scientific theory on the breakdown and restoration of Earth’s four spheres. The Arts teams engaged with artists from diverse cultures to communicate messages of global unity and peace.

Well done to everyone involved in TOM this year. All SCEGGS entries in the Sydney East Regional Competition were of a very high standard, with special congratulations going to the following teams on gaining awards:

Thank you to the SCEGGS staff who acted as Team Facilitators, supporting the 10 teams that entered in this year’s tournament.

Teams consisted of the following students and staff facilitators:

Emily Quirk 
Tournament of Minds Facilitators (Secondary)

Primary

We are very proud of our Years 5 and 6 students who participated in the Regional Finals of the Tournament of Minds Competition on Sunday 31 August at Randwick High School. The Primary School entered a team in each of the STEM,  Language-Literature, and Social Science disciplines. Each team worked hard to develop their Long-Term Challenge over six weeks and performed admirably on the day to present their Long-Term Challenge solution as well as compete in the unseen Spontaneous Challenge.

The STEM Challenge was titled, Re-Union. The team was required to investigate the causes of disunity among Earth’s four spheres – lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere – and propose a scientific theory for restoring balance. They were asked to design and present a 3D emblem with four interlocking parts that physically break apart to show disunity which then had to be reassembled in a new, stronger configuration symbolising renewed harmony. The STEM team, consisting of Harriet Hilton, Annabel Ling, Dasha Jolley, Minttu Guss, Olivia Hung, Aleisha Yeung, and Ying Huang from Year 6, explored the issue of overconsumption, with particular focus on overfishing, to explain why the spheres were in disunity. Some very clever coding work with SPIKE LEGO provided the movable platform for the four spheres to break apart and then come back together. The girls worked in productive harmony to develop a sophisticated solution to this difficult challenge.

Tales of Light, Dark & Tan was this year’s focus for Language-Literature and students were asked to bring to life one of Shaun Tan’s classic tales. The Year 5 team, consisting of Chloe Anderson, Alice Chandler, Defne Aslan, Ava Grange, Madeleine Chirakis, Ava Yusiw and Kaylee Wang, chose Cicada to highlight discrimination in society. The girls creatively adapted and interpreted the story to imply meaning and mood within the strong societal message. They impressively came up with and used, the recurring speaking motif of “trap, trap, trap” whilst the cicada was trying to fit in and then “free, free, free” when the cicada finally gave in and stopped trying to be something it’s not. It was lovely to see the girls work so collaboratively together to come to their solution and perform so well on the day – it was hard work, coupled with a lot of fun, too!

The Social Science challenge, titled TOMmunity Tackles Town Tensions!, required the girls to pitch an idea for a new recreational facility in Darlinghurst, showcasing two possible locations and weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of each. They also needed to design a creative facility that would meet the diverse needs of the community, encourage healthy lifestyles and bring people together. The Year 6 team, consisting of Harriet Hyde, Eva Geha, Josephine Smith, Ava Whiteman, Eliana Raissis, Charlotte Nixon, Emilia Laban did some clever research for the challenge by speaking to Mr Lee-Lindsay to find out more information about the needs of our local community. The team performed admirably on the day, coming away with an Honour Award. Well done, girls!

Congratulations to all the Primary girls who participated in the Tournament of Minds Competition.

Cristi Wilsmore, Madeleine Whitfeld and Ellen Ward
Tournament of Minds Facilitators (Primary)