Third in Science and Engineering Challenge

Late last term students in Years 9 and 10 attended the Science and Engineering Challenge at Sydney Olympic Park. The events, run by the University of Newcastle in cooperation with academics from multiple NSW universities, offer students the chance to engage with design, engineering, problem solving and experimentation.

We congratulate our students who placed third overall and had a wonderful time solving electrical problems, building and testing prototypes and putting science into action. They had the benefit of working alongside other like minded students under the mentorship of engineering students and volunteers from universities across NSW. 

A special thanks to Mr Chadwick, Ms Chapman and Ms Iskandar who helped to ready the students for the challenge by mentoring them on Tuesday afternoons in Term 1. 

Student Reflections

Below are two reflections from Year 9 students who attended for the first time this year;

‘The Science and Engineering Challenge was an amazing experience that provided the opportunity to strengthen our teamwork skills, encouraged us to push ideas through experimentation, and showed how innovation emerges from collective problem solving.‘

Emilia
Year 9

‘During the eco habitat challenge, when the rain test began and we realised the instructions had been mixed up, our whole group froze with the same stunned look before cracking into shock laughter. The confusion and disbelief made the moment ridiculous, but what came after made it better. Watching the model hold up in the storm simulation and weight test brought an unexpected rush of excitement that turned the whole mix‑up into one of the best parts of the day.‘
Sienna
Year 9

Matthew Mountford
Dean of Gifted Education